James Cook was
the captain of the
Endeavour on a
treacherous
journey to
observe the
transit of Venus
and make the first
circumnavigation
of New Zealand.
He set out on this long journey in
1768,accompanied by:
Joseph Banks-botanist,
Daniel Solander- naturalist,
Charles Green- Greenwich Observatory,
The famous Nicholas young- the surgeons
boy
And later by Tupaia- a Tahitian chief and his
son from Tahiti who spoke some English and
was asked to accompany them and
translate should they run into any natives.
James Cook
Sir James Cook, born in
Yorkshire England, was an
explorer, navigator,
cartographer and also
captain of the royal navy.
The
Endeavour
The Endeavour
was an
amazing ship,
owned by
Joseph Banks,
that carried 18
months of
supplies, 94
men and
weighed 368
tons.
The Landing
On the 6th October
1769, Nicholas Young
sighted land from the
masthead. On the 8th of
October, they sailed into
a bay and laid anchor at
the entrance to a small
river in Tuuranga-nui,
todays Poverty Bay.
They discovered the
headland that had been
seen first and decided to
name it Young Nicks
Head after Nicholas
Young.
The Fights
The sailors set off in two small boats to
find supplies. Four people were left to
guard one of the boats but were soon
surprised by the appearance of four Māori
brandishing weapons. When one Māori
lifted a lance to hurl at the boat, he was
shot by a coxswain. Cooks crew returned
to the Endeavour and came back the next
day, accompanied by Tupaia. Some Māori
were waiting on the river bank when they
arrived and they were able to
communicate because Tupaia’s language
was similar to the Māoris’. Gifts were
presented but the Māori were hesitant
because of the killing the day before.
When a Māori seized a small cutlass, he
was shot.
Poverty bay
After some more arguing the next day, Cook took
aboard three Māori whom he be-friended, but he was
still upset about the previous killings so carried on up
the coast. He named his first landing site Poverty Bay
as he had not been able to take on refreshments.