Before 1770 no Europeans had ever seen the East coast of Australia. Englishman Captain James cook and his crew on the Endeavour were the first. Cook discovered the east coast while on a voyage to explore the South Pacific. He mapped the coast of Victoria to Queensland and returned to England with reports of lush, fertile land around Botany Bay. The British government needed a place to send convicts, and decided that the land cook described would be perfect. They sent the first fleet there and, in 1788, Australia was born. This is a story of the people, the ideas and the events surrounding Captain Cook's voyage in the Endeavour, and how it changed Australia forever.