5 May 2026
In January 1788, French explorer La Perouse sailed into Botany Bay to find the British First Fleet already there, having arrived just days earlier to found a penal colony. Neither expedition had known the other was coming. The two captains exchanged courtesies. Then La Perouse sailed north, and his ships vanished. No trace was found for nearly 40 years.
La Perouse Expedition, 1788