The French are defeated at Waterloo

18th June 1815

While Allan Cunningham and James Bowie were in Brazil, on this day, 18th June 1815, collecting plants for Kew Gardens, their fellow countrymen defeated the French at Waterloo. This event ensured the colonisation of Australia remained firmly in British hands. If the French had won at Waterloo our Australian world would be very different today. Many of the Englishmen who fought in the Napoleonic wars brought themselves and their families to Australia in the years that followed. Several geographic names in Australia find their source in people, places and events related to the British success at Waterloo. Two popular name choices were that of the British heros, Nelson and Wellington. ¹

1. Source: Wikipedia – Battle of Waterloo[↩]