THE ENDEAVOUR

Evening Star, Issue 22460, 3 October 1936, Page 28

THE ENDEAVOUR

COOK'S FAMOUS SHIP “Two cats called the Valentine and the Earl of Pembroke x to be surveyed and report which is the properest to be purchased.” so runs the entry in the Warrant Entry Book of th© Board of Trade, Deptford, under the date March 23, 1768. The survey having been duly carried out the ship Earl of Pembroke was purchased for £2,800. She was then “ sheathed, filled, and fitted- for voyage to tho southward ” at a further cost of £2,294. This cat-builfc boat was soon to make a voyage which was to bring immortal fame to her master, Captain James Cook. She was to be called the Endeavour Bark. The reason for this official name was that there was at that time another Endeavour in the British Navy. A cat-built boat is on© that has a round, bluff bow and a wide, deep waist from’ which point it tapers towards the stern. The name was derived from the Norwegian “ kati,” a ship. That such a description is appropriate to the Endeavour can now be demonstrated to all who visit the Dominion Museum, where a model has recently been placed on view. This model, which was constructed by Major Burton, of Nelson, and its case are the gift of the Wellington Harbour Board. It is at present shown in close proxiity to a model of the liner Rangitane, though the scale is different. At a later date it is intended to place the model of the Endeavour with other objects and pictures illustrative of Captain Cook’s voyages of discovery. The Endeavour was 368 tons burthen and >was built by Messrs Fishburn, of Whitby, in 1764. She was nearly 100 ft in length, 80ft beam, and 131 it draught. The sheathing carried out by tho Admiralty must have been of wood, as there is no mention of copper in the surveyors’ books, nor at the time of her being repaired at the Endeavour River. Judging by modern standards the points impress one when viewing the model of the Endeavour are the blunt bow and square stern, also the fact that the foremast is quite close to tho bow. These features, \vith the tall masts and numerous ropes and yards, recall the time when Britain’s sea power was all dependent on sailing vessels. It must be remembered that this ship was purchased by tho Admiralty and accordingly should properly be referred to as H.M.S. Endeavour. The main object of Cook’s first voyage was to observe the transit of the planet Yenus across the disc of the sun from the island of Tahiti. The decision to make the voyage resulted from a memorial addressed by the Royal Society to King George 111., who was graciously pleased to order the sum ot £4,000 clear of foes to defray expenses. The Endeavour left Plymouth on August 25, 1768, and after a voyage round the world, in the course of which New Zealand was visited and charted, returned to England on Jul.v 12, 1//1After this she made some trips to the Falkland Islands, and was then sold. Her next work was that of a collier in tho North Sea. Finally she was rechristened La Libcrte, and sent with a cargo of oil to Newport, Rhode Island. In trying to leave this port she ran aground, and she was allowed to remain where she was and drop to pieces.