A picture book series about the extraordinary men and women who have shaped Australia’s history, including the great explorer, Captain Cook. A picture book series about the extraordinary men and women who have shaped Australia’s history, including the great explorer, Captain Cook. Captain Cook was the first European to discover the eastern coast of Australia. Along with his crew on the HMB Endeavour, Cook set out from England with royal orders to look for signs of the great southern land known as Terra Australis, which they chartered in 1788. From Ned Kelly to Saint Mary MacKillop; Captain Cook to Douglas Mawson, the Meet … series of picture books tells the exciting stories of the men and women who have shaped Australia’s history.