AIRFIX Endeavour Bark Mode D'emploi

The "Endeavour"
is
famous
as
the ship
in
which Captain Cook, the English explorer, made the first
of his voyages of discovery. Originally built as the "Earl of Pembroke",
a
Whitby collier of 370 tons,
the "Endeavour" spent the first four years of her life carrying coals from Newcastle
to
London. She
was purchased by the Admiralty in March 1768 and immediately converted
to suit
her
for exploration, extra
cabins being built and the bottom reinforced;this fitting out was completed
in July. When completed the
re-named "Endeavour" was eminently suitable for her new role; her shallow draught enabled
her
to
navigate
waters impassable
to
larger
warships and her strong construction and almost flat bottom allowed
her
to
be
easily run ashore
for repairs. For protection against the unknown dangers "Endeavour" had been provided
with the comparatively heavy armament of
12 swivel
and
10
carriage guns. The
master of the "Endeavour",
the
then Lieutenant James Cook, was already an outstanding navigator and seaman. Born at Marton,
Yorkshire
in 1728, James Cook was the son of
a
farm labourer. He had only
a
few months of schooling
before
he
was apprenticed to
a
grocer and haberdasher at the age of thirteen. When
he
was seventeen,
Cook was released from his indentures and became
an
apprentice with
a
Whitby shipowner and spent
several years
in
the Coasting and Baltic trade. ln June 1755, Cook entered the Royal Navy as an able-
seaman,
gaining his master's warrant two years later. ln 1768
he
was raised to the rank of lieutenant and
placed in command of the "Endeavour" bark. "Endeavour" sailed from the Thames on 25 August 1768.
Cook's orders being to obserue the transit of Venus from Tahiti
in
the Southern Pacific, to
investigate the
problem of the southern continent and to
annex any new lands
discovered for the British
Empire. ln
the
ship's complement of 94 were 71 officers and sailors, 12 marines and
11
passengers, including Sir Joseph
Banks and a number of other scientists. Charles Green, assistant to the Astronomer Royal; went as second
observer.
ln
April 1769, "Endeavour" arrived
at
Tahiti and the transit was successfully observed on
3 June.
Leaving Tahiti, Cook sailed southward
in search of
the assumed southern continent;
he sailed as
far south
as
latitude 40'then
westward
to
New Zealand, both islands of which
he
circumnavigated and charted. Next
he surveyed
the East coast of Australia and took possession of it
in
the name of Great Britain. He sailed
through the strait which separates Australia from New Guinea establishing beyond doubt the distinction of
the
two
islands. Continuing his voyage to Java and the Cape of Good Hope, Cook finally arrived back
in
England on
12
June
1771
, afler a voyage
of almost three years. Cook made two
more voyages of
discovery
in 1772 he again sailed south, in "Resolution" and "Adventure".
He
sailed round the edge of the Antarctic
ice
cap and explored the South Pacific, being promoted Captain on his return. ln'|'776
he
went on his last
voyage, in search of the North-West passage, surveyed the south-west coast of
North America and then
turned back to
Hawaii.
On 14 February 1779,he was attacked by natives and killed. During his lifetime,
Cook did more than any other navigator to add to our knowledge
of
the Pacific and Southern Oceans.
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