COOK DISCOVERS NEW ZEALAND
But while the names of Torres, Carpenter, Tasman, and Dampier are still
to be found on our modern maps of Australia, it is the name of Captain
Cook that we must always connect most closely with the discovery of
the great island continent--the Great South Land which only became
known to Europe one hundred and fifty years ago.
Dampier had returned to England in 1701 from his voyage to New Holland,
but nearly seventy years passed before the English were prepared to
send another expedition to investigate further the mysterious land
in the south.
James Cook had shown himself worthy of the great command that was given
to him in 1768, although exploration was not the main object of the
expedition. Spending his boyhood in the neighbourhood of Whitby, he
was familiar with the North Sea fishermen, with the colliers, even
with the smugglers that frequented this eastern coast. In 1755 he
entered the Royal Navy, volunteering for service and entering H.M.S.
_Eagle_ as master's mate. Four years later we find him taking his share
on board H.M.S. _Pembroke_ in the attack on Quebec by Wolfe, and later
transferred to H.M.S. _Northumberland_, selected to survey the river
and Gulf of St. Lawrence. So satisfactory was his work that a few years
later he was instructed to survey and chart the coasts of Newfoundland
and Labrador. While engaged on this work, he observed an eclipse of
the sun, which led to the appointment that necessitated a voyage to
the Pacific Ocean. It had been calculated that a Transit of Venus would
occur in June 1769. A petition to the King set forth: "That, the British
nation being justly celebrated in the learned world for their
knowledge of astronomy, in which they are inferior to no nation upon
earth, ancient or modern, it would cast dishonour upon them should
they neglect to have correct observations made of this important
phenomenon." The King agreed, and the Royal Society selected James
Cook as a fit man for the appointment. A stout, strongly built collier
of three hundred and seventy tons was chosen at Whitby, manned with
seventy men, and victualled for twelve months. With instructions to
observe the Transit of Venus at the island of Georgeland (Otaheite),
to make further discoveries in the South Pacific Ocean and to explore
New Zealand if possible, Cook hoisted his flag on H.M.S. _Endeavour_
and started in May 1768.
It was an interesting party on board, joined at the last moment by
Mr. Joseph Banks, a very rich member of the Royal Society and a student
of Natural History. He had requested leave to sail in "the ship that
carries the English astronomers to the new-discovered country in the
South Sea." "No people ever went to sea better fitted out for the
purpose of Natural History, nor more elegantly," says a contemporary
writer. "They have a fine library, they have all sorts of machines
for catching and preserving insects, they have two painters and
draughtsmen--in short, this expedition will cost Mr. Banks 10,000
pounds."
Their astronomical instruments were of the best, including a portable
observatory constructed for sixteen guineas. But most important of
all was the careful assortment of provisions, to allay, if possible,
that scourge of all navigators, the scurvy. A quantity of malt was
shipped to be made into wort, mustard, vinegar, wheat, orange and lemon
juice and portable soup was put on board, and Cook received special
orders to keep his men with plenty of fresh food whenever this was
possible. He carried out these orders strenuously, and at Madeira we
find him punishing one of his own seamen with twelve lashes for refusing
to eat fresh beef. Hence they left Rio de Janeiro "in as good a condition
for prosecuting the voyage as on the day they left England."
[Illustration: THE ISLAND OF OTAHEITE, OR ST. GEORGE. From a painting
by William Hodges, who accompanied Captain Cook.]
Christmas Day was passed near the mouth of the river Plate, and, early
in the New Year of 1769, the _Endeavour_ sailed through the Strait
of Le Maire. The wealthy Mr. Banks landed on Staaten Island and hastily
added a hundred new plants to his collection. Then they sailed on to
St. George's Island. It had been visited by Captain Wallis in the
_Dolphin_ the previous year; indeed, some of Cook's sailors had served
on board the _Dolphin_ and knew the native chiefs of the island. All
was friendly, tents were soon pitched, a fort built with mounted guns
at either side, the precious instruments landed, and on 3rd June, with
a cloudless sky and in intolerable heat, they observed the whole
passage of the planet Venus over the sun's disk.
After a stay of three months they left the island, taking Tupia, a
native, with them. Among other accomplishments this Tupia roasted dogs
to perfection, and Cook declares that dogs' flesh is "next only to
English lamb."
They visited other islands in the group--now known as the Society
Islands and belonging to France--and took possession of all in the
name of His Britannic Majesty, George III.
All through the month of September they sailed south, till on 7th
October land was sighted. It proved to be the North Island of New
Zealand, never before approached by Europeans from the east. It was
one hundred and twenty-seven years since Tasman had discovered the
west coast and called it Staaten Land, but no European had ever set
foot on its soil. Indeed, it was still held to be part of the Terra
Australis Incognita.
The first to sight land was a boy named Nicholas Young, hence the point
was called "Young Nick's Head," which may be seen on our maps to-day,
covering Poverty Bay. The natives here were unfriendly, and Cook was
obliged to use firearms to prevent an attack. The Maoris had never
seen a great ship before, and at first thought it was a very large
bird, being struck by the size and beauty of its wings (sails). When
a small boat was let down from the ship's side they thought it must
be a young unfledged bird, but when the white men in their
bright-coloured clothes rowed off in the boat they concluded these
were gods.
Cook found the low sandy coast backed by well-wooded hills rising to
mountains on which patches of snow were visible, while smoke could
be seen through the trees, speaking of native dwellings. The natives
were too treacherous to make it safe landing for the white men, so
they sailed out of Poverty Bay and proceeded south. Angry Maoris shook
their spears at the Englishmen as they coasted south along the east
coast of the North Island. But the face of the country was unpromising,
and Cook altered his course for the north at a point he named Cape
Turnagain. Unfortunately he missed the only safe port on the east coast
between Auckland and Wellington, but he found good anchorage in what
is now known as Cook's Bay. Here they got plenty of good fish, wild
fowl, and oysters, "as good as ever came out of Colchester." Taking
possession of the land they passed in the name of King George, Cook
continued his northerly course, passing many a river which seemed to
resemble the Thames at home. A heavy December gale blew them off the
northernmost point of land, which they named North Cape, and Christmas
was celebrated off Tasman's islands, with goose-pie.
[Illustration: AN IPAH, OR MAORI FORT, ON THE COAST BETWEEN POVERTY
BAY AND CAPE TURNAGAIN. From an engraving in the Atlas to Cook's first
_Voyage_.]
The New Year of 1770 found Cook off Cape Maria van Diemen, sailing
south along the western coast of the North Island, till the _Endeavour_
was anchored in Ship Cove, Queen Charlotte's Sound, only about seventy
miles from the spot where Tasman first sighted land.
Here the English explorer landed. The country was thickly wooded, but
he climbed a hill, and away to the eastward he saw that the seas washing
both east and west coasts of the northern island were united. He had
solved one problem. Tasman's Staaten Land was not part of a great
southern continent. He now resolved to push through his newly
discovered straits between the two islands, and, having done this,
he sailed north till he reached Cape Turnagain. And so he proved beyond
a doubt that this was an island. The men thought they had done enough.
But Cook, with the true instinct of an explorer, turned a deaf ear
to the murmurings of his crew for roast beef and Old England, and
directed his course again south. From the natives he had learned of
the existence of two islands, and he must needs sail round the southern
as he had sailed round the northern isle. Storms and gales harassed
the navigators through the month of February as they made their way
slowly southwards. Indeed, they had a very narrow escape from death
towards the end of the month, when in a two days' gale, with heavy
squalls of rain, their foresail was split to pieces and they lost sight
of land for seven days, nearly running on to submerged rocks which
Cook named The Traps.
It was nearly dark on 14th March when they entered a bay which they
suitably christened Dusky Bay, from which they sailed to Cascade Point,
named from the four streams that fell over its face.
"No country upon earth," remarks Cook, "can appear with a more rugged
and barren aspect than this does from the sea, for, as far inland as
the eye can reach, nothing is to be seen but the summit of these rocky
mountains." At last on 24th March they rounded the north point of the
South Island. Before them lay the familiar waters of Massacre Bay,
Tasman Bay, and Queen Charlotte Sound.
"As we have now circumnavigated the whole of this country, it is time
for me to think of quitting it," Cook remarks simply enough.
Running into Admiralty Bay, the _Endeavour_ was repaired for her
coming voyage home. Her sails, "ill-provided from the first," says
Banks, "were now worn and damaged by the rough work they had gone
through, particularly on the coast of New Zealand, and they gave no
little trouble to get into order again."
While Banks searched for insects and plants, Cook sat writing up his
_Journal_ of the circumnavigation. He loyally gives Tasman the honour
of the first discovery, but clearly shows his error in supposing it
to be part of the great southern land.
The natives he describes as "a strong, raw-boned, well-made, active
people rather above the common size, of a dark brown colour, with black
hair, thin black beards, and white teeth. Both men and women paint
their faces and bodies with red ochre mixed with fish oil. They wear
ornaments of stone, bone, and shells at their ears and about their
necks, and the men generally wear long white feathers stuck upright
in their hair. They came off in canoes which will carry a hundred
people; when within a stone's throw of the ship, the chief of the party
would brandish a battleaxe, calling out: 'Come ashore with us and we
will kill you.' They would certainly have eaten them too, for they
were cannibals."
The ship was now ready and, naming the last point of land Cape Farewell,
they sailed away to the west, "till we fall in with the east coast
of New Holland." They had spent six and a half months sailing about
in New Zealand waters, and had coasted some two thousand four hundred
miles.
Nineteen days' sail brought them to the eagerly sought coast, and on
28th April, Cook anchored for the first time in the bay known afterwards
to history as Botany Bay, so named from the quantity of plants found
in the neighbourhood by Mr. Banks. Cutting an inscription on one of
the trees, with the date and name of the ship, Cook sailed north early
in May, surveying the coast as he passed and giving names to the various
bays and capes. Thus Port Jackson, at the entrance of Sydney harbour,
undiscovered by Cook, was so named after one of the Secretaries of
the Admiralty--Smoky Cape from smoke arising from native
dwellings--Point Danger by reason of a narrow escape on some
shoals--while Moreton Bay, on which Brisbane, the capital of
Queensland, now stands, was named after the President of the Royal
Society. As they advanced, the coast became steep, rocky, and
unpromising.
"Hitherto," reports Cook, "we had safely navigated this dangerous
coast, where the sea in all parts conceals shores that project suddenly
from the shore and rocks that rise abruptly like a pyramid from the
bottom more than one thousand three hundred miles. But here we became
acquainted with misfortune, and we therefore called the point which
we had just seen farthest to the northward, Cape Tribulation."
It was the 10th of May. The gentlemen had left the deck "in great
tranquillity" and gone to bed, when suddenly the ship struck and
remained immovable except for the heaving of the surge that beat her
against the crags of the rock upon which she lay. Every one rushed
to the deck "with countenances which sufficiently expressed the
horrors of our situation." Immediately they took in all sails, lowered
the boats, and found they were on a reef of coral rocks. Two days of
sickening anxiety followed, the ship sprang a leak, and they were
threatened with total destruction. To their intense relief, however,
the ship floated off into deep water with a high tide. Repairs were
now more than ever necessary, and the poor battered collier was taken
into the "Endeavour" river. Tupia and others were also showing signs
of scurvy; so a hospital tent was erected on shore, and with a supply
of fresh fish, pigeons, wild plantains, and turtles they began to
improve. Here stands to-day the seaport of Cooktown, where a monument
of Captain Cook looks out over the waters that he discovered.
[Illustration: CAPTAIN COOK'S VESSEL BEACHED AT THE ENTRANCE OF
ENDEAVOUR RIVER, WHERE THE SEAPORT OF COOKTOWN NOW STANDS. From an
engraving in the Atlas to Cook's first _Voyage_.]
The prospect of further exploration was not encouraging. "In whatever
direction we looked, the sea was covered with shoals as far as the
eye could see." As they sailed out of their little river, they could
see the surf breaking on the "Great Barrier Reef." Navigation now
became very difficult, and, more than once, even Cook himself almost
gave up hope. Great, then, was their joy when they found themselves
at the northern promontory of the land which "I have named York Cape
in honour of His late Royal Highness the Duke of York. We were in great
hopes that we had at last found out a passage into the Indian Seas."
And he adds an important paragraph: "As I was now about to quit the
eastern coast of New Holland, which I am confident no European had
ever seen before, I once more hoisted the English colours, and I now
took possession of the whole eastern coast in right of His Majesty
King George III., by the name of New South Wales, with all the bays,
harbours, rivers, and islands situated upon it."
This part of the new land was called by the name of New South Wales.
So the _Endeavour_ sailed through the straits that Torres had
accidentally passed one hundred and sixty-four years before, and, just
sighting New Guinea, Cook made his way to Java, for his crew were sickly
and "pretty far gone with longing for home." The ship, too, was in
bad condition; she had to be pumped night and day to keep her free
from water, and her sails would hardly stand the least puff of wind.
They reached Batavia in safety and were kindly received by the Dutch
there.
Since leaving Plymouth two years before, Cook had only lost seven men
altogether--three by drowning, two frozen, one from consumption, one
from poisoning--none from scurvy--a record without equal in the
history of Navigation. But the climate of Batavia now wrought havoc
among the men. One after another died, Tupia among others, and so many
were weakened with fever that only twenty officers and men were left
on duty at one time.
Glad, indeed, they were to leave at Christmas time, and gladder still
to anchor in the Downs and to reach London after their three years'
absence. The news of his arrival and great discoveries seems to have
been taken very quietly by those at home. "Lieutenant Cook of the Navy,"
says the _Annual Register_ for 1771, "who sailed round the globe, was
introduced to His Majesty at St. James's, and presented to His Majesty
his _Journal_ of his voyage, with some curious maps and charts of
different places that he had drawn during the voyage; he was presented
with a captain's commission."