Captain Cook claimed the east coast of Australia for Britain in 1770. He came ashore and named it New South Wales. I have known this most of my life. What I didn’t realise until last year was that he was also the first to explore the body of water now known as Cook Inlet at Anchorage, Alaska. At the time he was looking for the north-west passage which he believed joined the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. He never found the passage. To honour this important discovery a statue was built of Cook overlooking Anchorage Harbour. There is also a statue of Captain Cook in Hyde Park Sydney, Australia. According to our guide the Alaskan sculpture was built so that both statutes could look each other in the eyes. I don’t know if if its true or not but if it is it’s a great piece of detail.