Sydney Cove was a bay on the southern shores of Port Jackson harbour. It was named Warrane by the Eora people.
Governor Phillip had been instructed to establish the penal settlement at Botany Bay, which had been discovered by Lieutenant James Cook during his voyage of discovery in 1770, and was recommended by the eminent botanist Sir Joseph Banks, who had accompanied Cook, as a suitable site for a settlement. But Phillip discovered that Botany Bay offered neither a secure anchorage nor a reliable source of fresh water. Sydney Cove offered both of these, being serviced by a freshwater creek which was soon to be known as the Tank Stream.
Sydney Cove was named after the British Home Secretary, the 1st Baron Sydney. It was the site chosen by Captain Arthur Phillip, between 21 and 23 January 1788 for the British penal settlement and where possession of New South Wales was formally declared on 26 January.
Stamps & Postal Products
1988 The Early Years – 37c The Rocks & Sydney Cove 1800
