Botanical Peril: How Banks and Solander Survived the Journey That Killed 38
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast:
July 12, 1771
On this day, dear readers, Captain Cook graced England's shores once more, having triumphantly completed his maiden voyage to that far-flung curiosity we now call Australia.
One cannot help but marvel at the delicious irony that neither our esteemed Captain nor his plant-obsessed companion Joseph Banks noticed that the very ground upon which they so proudly planted the British flag was positively teeming with gold!
The quartz reef they stood upon—worth a king's ransom—would remain blissfully undisturbed by European hands for nearly two decades more.
One wonders how history might have unfolded differently had they but glanced downward with a keener eye!
The Endeavour, that stalwart vessel of discovery, somehow managed to survive the treacherous embrace of the Great Barrier Reef and River—no small feat for any maritime adventure. Before setting sail for England, our Captain harbored grave doubts that his weathered ship could successfully navigate the Cape of Good Hope.
In what this observer must describe as a decision of questionable wisdom, Cook directed his ship to Batavia, a Dutch colony, to strengthen his vessel for the journey home. Alas! Batavia proved a veritable playground for malaria and dysentery! The price of this detour was catastrophically steep—38 crew members never again saw English shores. The botanists, Banks and Solander, though brought to death's door by illness, somehow managed to survive.
Even as fever ravaged their bodies and weakness claimed their limbs, these dedicated gentlemen of science still ventured forth to collect their precious specimens! Such dedication to flora while death lurked nearby speaks volumes of their botanical obsession—or perhaps their particular brand of madness!
So on this day, in 1771, Cook, Banks, and Solander at last returned to English soil, their collections and discoveries intact, if not their full complement of crew. Yet the siren call of adventure lingered in Cook's ears, for precisely 365 days later, he would set sail once more. Banks, however, would wisely decline this second invitation to tempt fate. Instead, a German father-and-son duo—Johann Reinhold Forster and his boy Georg—would take up the botanical mantle for Cook's next grand adventure. One can only hope they packed ample medicinal supplies!
For gardeners contemplating their own expeditions—albeit of a less perilous nature—let us remember that sometimes the greatest treasures lie unnoticed beneath our very feet, and that the pursuit of botanical knowledge, while noble, need not come at the cost of one's health. Unlike our intrepid explorers, perhaps consider collecting specimens from regions less riddled with deadly diseases!
