Mapping Australia and the Pacific

Mapping Australia and the Pacific

Commemorations (2019x)

Mar 1, 2019 | Commemorations (2019x), News

The latest video from the National Library of Australia takes a look inside The Cook And The Pacific exhibition which brings together objects from Australia and around the world to explore what Captain James Cook’s voyages meant for the Pacific region through the eyes of the British voyagers and the Indigenous peoples they met. It also highlights the advances in mapping which occurred during this period, with his 3 Pacific voyages between 1768 and 1780 leading to large parts of the world being accurately charted for the first time.

Edmund Halley and Cook’s Voyage to the South Pacific

Edmund Halley and Cook’s Voyage to the South Pacific

Commemorations (2019x)

Feb 8, 2019 | Commemorations (2019x), News

This year marks the 250th anniversary of the first visit to New Zealand by Captain James Cook. Unfortunately history has not covered Cook’s skills as an astronomer particularly well so the importance of his observations of the transit of Venus in 1769 have often been overlooked. Cook and the crew of the Endeavour contributed to the measuring of one of the most important constants in astronomy, one that gave 18th century astronomers an understanding of the scale of the known universe.

Tuia – Encounters 250 Commemoration Events

Tuia – Encounters 250 Commemoration Events

Commemorations (2019x)

Jan 14, 2019 | Commemorations (2019x), News

Commemorations marking the 250th anniversary of Captain Cook’s 1769 voyage to New Zealand start will start in March and are being expressed through music, storytelling, kapa haka, arts, and other cultural activities on the Coromandel. The national Tuia – 250 Encounters celebrates and recognises the connections made by the maori communities from Ngati Hei and Ngati Whanaunga to Captain Cook and his crew’s arrival.

Handmade Stone Tools from the Voyages of Captain Cook

Handmade Stone Tools from the Voyages of Captain Cook

British Commemorations

Jan 14, 2019 | British Commemorations, News

Sotheby’s upcoming sale, Royal & Noble on 17 January , features two remarkable relics from the voyages of Captain Cook.  Two Tahitian adze blades at first glance, seem quite ordinary, but reveal a remarkable history intertwined with the historical voyages made by Cook. Through the two documents accompanying the stones, we know that the present blades were used in the construction of a canoe for Cook while he was on the Island of Tahiti in 1769.