It has been 250 years since naturalist Joseph Banks sailed to the Pacific with James Cook aboard HMB Endeavour. During the voyage, Banks and his team made the first scientific collections of Australian flora. Their specimens were sketched by Sydney Parkinson, whose pioneering illustrations were published last year.
They decorated your classrooms, your bedrooms and even the back of your toilet door. Australian Geographic posters have, since the magazines inception, played an important part in informing our readership about the incredible flora and fauna, landscapes and history of Australia. Here are some of our favourites from over the years.
Australia’s regional botanic gardens are ‘living museums’, not merely places of scenic beauty.
Wattles belong to the plant genus Acacia, which contains about 1350 species worldwide, including 1000 in Australia. Ranging from trees to minuscule shrubs, acacias dominate many of our landscapes. On the first day of spring is National Wattle Day, marking the moment in history when the Golden Wattle was made Australia’s official floral emblem.
Australia is home to many bizarre creatures, but they’re no less lovable than our iconic kangas and cuddly koalas. Here are our favourites.
At least 100,000 insects are among the many Australian species still to be formally identified. That’s a problem for any biosecurity experts who need to be able to spot potentially invasive bugs.
Everything you need to know about the 10 deserts that make up almost a fifth of Australia.
Platypus are known for being extremely shy, but this little fella was curious about some lucky wildlife photographers
Part of the ringtail possum family, this greater glider lacks the typical prehensile tail
When virus infections attack, the hybrids of these two sub-species of parrots prevail