Banks, Joseph (1743–1820)

A drawing by Sydney Parkinson of Banksia serrata. The Banksia serrata, or ‘saw banksias’, is an Australian tree that can grow to 20 m/70 ft high, with a corresponding spread of 8 m/25 ft.

English naturalist and explorer. In the position of naturalist, he accompanied Captain James Cook on an expedition from 1768 to 1771 to the southern hemisphere in the Endeavour, and brought back 3,600 plants, a large proportion of which had not been classified previously. The Banksia genus of shrubs is named after him.

Banks was born in London and educated at Oxford. Inheriting a fortune, he made his first voyage in 1766, to Labrador and Newfoundland. The expedition in the Endeavour explored the coasts of New Zealand and Australia. Banks's plant-collecting activities at the first landing place in Australia (near present-day Sydney) gave rise to the name of the area – Botany Bay. He also studied the Australian fauna. In 1772 Banks went on his last expedition, to Iceland, where he studied geysers. He was instrumental in establishing the first colony at Botany Bay in 1788.