La Perouse's French expedition reached Botany Bay while the British were moving their settlement to Port Jackson. The British received the visitors cordially and offered assistance, although the commanders never met in person. La Perouse entrusted journals, charts, and letters to Sirius in the expectation that the ship would eventually return to Europe. His expedition was later lost at Vanikoro. In this interpretation, that loss and the wars that restricted subsequent French naval activity helped Britain avoid an immediate colonial rival in Australia.
Notable Point · 54:48-56:35
La Perouse reaches Botany Bay
The French expedition exchanged courtesies with the British and sent papers home before its loss at Vanikoro.