By Luke Costin in Sydney

One of the first banksias ever documented and the botanical footprints of celebrated artists have been included in a massive plant archive.

Scientists from the Botanic Gardens of Sydney have spent the past five years creating the most comprehensive searchable image archive in Australia by cataloguing and digitising the entire collection of the National Herbarium of NSW.

More than one million plants are in the new platform including more than 800 specimens collected by botanists Sir Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander on James Cook’s first voyage to the Pacific in 1770.

One such example is a clipping of a banksia serrata, taken during an exploration of Botany Bay that led Sir Joseph to later campaign for a British settlement there.

The digitisation process has also revealed new discoveries of Australia’s botanical science history, including specimens collected by celebrated indigenous painter Albert Namatjira and illustrations by renowned botanical illustrator Margaret Flockton.

“To see the transformation from an 18th century specimen library to a cutting-edge digital collection for public use is quite extraordinary,” Botanic Gardens of Sydney chief executive Simon Duffy said.

“Technological advancements such as this also help foster better collaboration with educators and students, decision-makers, private land holders and managers, and community groups to help save plants from extinction in this rapidly changing world.”

About 4000 images were taken daily to transform the plant specimens into a high-resolution image, the NSW government said on Monday.

The National Herbarium of NSW was one of the most significant botanical resources in the southern hemisphere, acting public spaces minister Anoulack Chanthivong said.

“For the first time, scientists and plant enthusiasts can now access hundreds of years of botanical history to learn about Australia’s unique biodiversity,” he said.

People can visit the Botanic Gardens of Sydney Herbarium search portal.