Indigenous Australian names for the eastern grey include "iyirrbir" and "kucha". The eastern grey kangaroo was first seen by Europeans when Captain James Cook was fixing his ship near Cooktown, Queensland. He took a sample of this unknown aminal back to England to be examined. The eastern grey is also the kangaroo on the Australian Coat of Arms. Captain John Hunter, later Governor of New South Wales painted a watercolour in 1788, of the eastern grey which was published in his book, "Birds and Flowers of New South Wales, painted on the spot in 1788, 1789 and 1790". This painting can be seen online here.