The setting in Omar Sakr's poem "Botany Bay" is the "grassy plain" which overlooks the eponymous bay. Botany Bay is close to Sydney, on the south-east coast of Australia, and it is famous as the place where James Cook and the HMS Endeavour first landed in 1770.

In the poem, there are children playing on the "grassy plain," and we can infer that it is very hot because the children are "squinting / in the heat." We are also told that where the "grassy plain" meets the water it becomes "pebbled cliffs and sand." Across the plain there wafts the smell of "fish and chips steam[ing] in the sun." Overall the setting is described as a peaceful, beautiful, rather idyllic place.

There is a bridge from the "grassy plain" to "Captain Cook's museum," and the museum "looks both close / and awful in the distance." It is this aspect of the setting (the museum) which prompts the speaker to consider Australian identity. The museum has been erected to mark the arrival of Captain James Cook and the speaker refers to this arrival as "the invasion." The choice of this word immediately suggests that Australia, at least from the speaker's point of view, has forged for itself a proud identity, independent of the British colonization which followed James Cook's "invasion."

As the speaker imagines what James Cook might have thought about Botany Bay today, he envisions the bay, and thus, by extension, Australian identity, as multicultural, independent and free. The multicultural aspect of the setting is implied by references to the different types of food ("fish and chips … pide, eggs, / cucumber and focaccia") being enjoyed by the people on the plain, and also by the adjective "hijabbed" used to describe the sky. The freedom that the speaker associates with the bay is implied by that fact that he is lying idly on the grass, looking up at the sky, and it is implied also by the aforementioned children who are playing freely on the plain.

The poem “Botany Bay” by Omar Sakr presents a busy scene on a grassy and sandy area overlooking Australia's Botany Bay. Two men are praying near the sea. Children run around playing their games. Seagulls look (and fight) for food. Couples sit on blankets on the sand or walk hand in hand. Food is plentiful, everything from fish and chips to focaccia. The speaker's aunt points out a museum dedicated to Captain Cook. As the speaker looks into the hazy distance, he sees a bridge. Then he lies on the grass, looking up at the sky, lost in his daydreams. He notices his grandmother, too, sitting nearby rocking.

This scene suggests the diversity that is now a part of Australian identity. The poet hints that the people gathered in this area of grass and sand are diverse. The men are praying facing East as Muslims do. The speaker's grandmother does not join in the formal prayers but wears her faith on her face. The speaker's reference to the “hijabbed sky” suggests that he and his family are also Muslim.

Further, some people sharing an afternoon together eat the traditional British-style fish and chips. Others, like the speaker's family, feast on different fare that matches their culture. The reference to Captain Cook's museum reminds the reader of Western culture, preserved, studied, and appreciated. Yet the speaker wonders what Captain Cook would make of the scene before him, a scene comprised of many people from different cultures all gathered together to enjoy a lovely afternoon at Botany Bay.