HEAD OVER HEELS

Sometimes one discovers something amazing when one least expects it. Other times, it takes a second look to realise that what one was searching for was right in front of one's nose. The finding of possibly the most beautiful, and certainly the largest, natural harbour in the world, Sydney Harbour, occurred in just such a way.

The first Europeans to see the eastern coast of Australia, as we may recall from our school days, arrived in 1770 led by James Cook aboard HMS Endeavour, and entered what we now know as Botany Bay – obviously a good arrival and departure point as this is now the locale of Sydney’s Kingsford Smith Airport. Lieutenant (later Captain) Cook and botanist Joseph Banks reported back to England and it was decided to establish a British colony at Botany Bay.

“Just eight days