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After leaving Botany Bay, Cook sailed past Port Jackson, but he did not enter Sydney Harbour.

He continued up the coast, charting and naming as he went. Disaster struck on 11 June when - at 11pm at night - the Endeavour struck a coral reef just near Cairns in Queensland. The pumps were manned and guns and other heavy items were thrown overboard. The water was gaining and there were not enough boats to save the ship's company. Men worked the pumps till they were exhausted. Finally, at the highest point of the tide, the ship was heaved clear of the reef. When they made it to land, they spent a month on shore making repairs and waiting for bad weather to pass. They got to know some Aborigines during this stay.

On the 22nd August, the Endeavour reached the northern tip of the mainland, which Cook named "Cape York."

Cooked then landed on a small island, hoisted the English falg and took possession of the whole eastern coast of Australia. He called it "New South Wales."

A number of men died on the return voyage from dysentery and malaria. The Endeavour stayed in Batavia for ten weeks being repaired.

The Endeavour finally returned to England in June, 1771. The entire voyage had taken two years and nearly ten months.