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25 OCTOBER: They cross the equator, and
all those who have never crossed the equator before must be dunked over
the side (tied to a chair). Banks pays a ransom of 4 days' allowance of
wine each to get himself, Cook, Solander, his servants, dogs and cats let
off.
12 NOVEMBER: First sight of Rio de
Janeiro.
13 NOVEMBER: They anchor in Rio for 6
weeks, where they have to wait for the Portuguese administrator to
re-supply them and give clearance (Due to the class of ship the Expedition
was using, he wouldn't believe that they weren't pirates).
2 DECEMBER: Peter Flower drowns by falling
overboard.
7 DECEMBER: The Endeavour leaves
Rio.
1769
12 JANUARY: Le Maire Straits are reached,
although the ship is pushed back three times in the effort.
15 JANUARY: The Endeavour reaches
the Bay of Good Success, Tierra del Fuego.
17 JANUARY: Banks, his servants and some
companions go on a collecting expedition. They lose their way and the
weather turns very cold. Two of the servants, Dorlton and Richmond, run
off with as much as they can carry. They are later found frozen to death.
The rest of the party spend a night out in the cold. Buchan suffers an
epileptic fit, but they make it back to the ship.
23 JANUARY: The ship heads south-west.
13 FEBRUARY: Cape Horn is sighted.
END FEB-MARCH: They reach the Pacific, and
experience calm conditions.
17 MARCH: The Tropic of Capricorn is
passed.
28 MARCH: Private Greenslade commits
suicide.
4-10 APRIL: They sight various Pacific
islands.
11 APRIL: Tahiti is sighted - their first
destination.
13 APRIL: The Endeavour anchors in
Tahiti. Here the seamen set about building Fort Venus, having a rest,
enjoy the good weather, trade and become friendly with the locals
(especially the women - Banks and Monkhouse even have a duel over one
woman, and both miss).
17 APRIL: Buchan has another fit and dies.
3 JUNE: The transit of Venus is observed.
3 JULY: Webb and Gibson desert so that
they can remain with the women they have met, but they are captured.
13 JULY: The Endeavour leaves
Tahiti for the Southern Continent, but they first spend the next month
exploring the Tahitian islands.
28 AUGUST: John Reading dies from drinking
3 pints of neat rum.
30 AUGUST: A comet is sighted.
29 SEPTEMBER: They see signs of land
(seals, logs, etc.).
6 OCTOBER: Nicholas Young ("Young
Nick") sights New Zealand.
7 OCTOBER: The ship reaches Poverty Bay.
8 OCTOBER: They have violent encounters
with the local Maori but during the following week trading begins.
15 OCTOBER: Tayeto is kidnapped and 3
Maori are killed.
7 NOVEMBER: The Endeavour reaches
Mercury Bay.
9 NOVEMBER: The transit of Mercury is
observed.
15 NOVEMBER: They take possession of New
Zealand in the name of George III and sail on to the Hauraki Gulf.
29 NOVEMBER:
Trading with the Maori turns into fights as they sail around the Bay of
Islands.
5 DECEMBER: The Endeavour heads
north up the East Coast in bad weather.
14 DECEMBER: North Cape is reached.
24 DECEMBER: They see the "Three
Kings", then stay out at sea over the next few days because of a
hurricane.
31 DECEMBER: Cape Maria Van Dieman is
reached.
1770
15 JANUARY: The ship stops at Queen
Charlotte Sound at "Ship Cove" for repairs.
22 JANUARY: Cook realises that New Zealand
is 2 islands after finding Cook's Strait.
7 FEBRUARY: The ship is nearly wrecked by
the strong tide.
13 FEBRUARY: Cape Turnagain is visited
again.
14 FEBRUARY: Cape Campbell is visited
again.
17 FEBRUARY: Gore sees land to the south
so they sail towards it - but find nothing there.
10 MARCH: On sailing round the southern
point of New Zealand, they prove it isn't a continent.
13 MARCH: They sail north up the West
Coast.
23 MARCH: Cape Farewell is reached.
26 MARCH: Queen Charlotte Sound and
Admiralty Bay are sighted again - the Endeavour has sailed around
New Zealand.
31 MARCH: Cook leaves New Zealand and
heads for "New Holland" or "Van Diemans Land" as it
was also known: Australia.
19 APRIL: Point Hicks (now Cape Everard)
is sighted, first seen by Lieutenant Hicks.
28 APRIL: The Endeavour finally
reaches Botany Bay. The local inhabitants shun the explorers.
1 MAY: Sutherland dies of TB in the next
week, they land and fill up with water, wood, fish, kangaroo and specimens
for research. They then continue up the east coast charting the shoreline
and islands.
12 JUNE: At Cape Tribulation the ship is
holed and stuck on Great Barrier Reef in the night.
16 JUNE and FOLLOWING WEEKS: At the
Endeavour River, the Endeavour is unloaded of 50 tons of guns,
ammunition, ballast, old food, even fresh water and wood. They pump madly
then manage to mend the hole by making a plug from a sail sewn with wool
and oakum and spread with sheep dung.
6 JULY: The
ship is repaired as best they can. They send boats to find a way through
the reef.
4 AUGUST: They are finally able to leave
the Endeavour River, and the next few days tow and warp between
shoals until they see a passage from Lizard's Peak.
11 AUGUST: The Endeavour reaches
Lizard Island.
13 AUGUST: They clear the reef; the ship
is leaking still but they cope with one pump.
15 AUGUST: There is no wind and the waves
are in danger of putting them back on the reef.
16 AUGUST: Safe anchor is found but they
are back in the reef.
21 AUGUST: Cape York is reached.
26 AUGUST: They sail for New Guinea, and
Torres Straight, (between Australia and New Guinea) is rediscovered (the
Spanish had kept it a secret).
7 SEPTEMBER: The Endeavour anchors
off Timor and they visit other islands nearby.
17 SEPTEMBER: They stop at the Dutch
settlement of Sauli for water and meat.
21 SEPTEMBER: The ship sets sail again.
1 OCTOBER: Java Head is sighted then they
enter the Sunda Straits.
11 OCTOBER: The Endeavour reaches
Batavia.
18 OCTOBER: On finding a dry dock for
repairs, the men go on shore in tents. In the following weeks malaria hits
everyone except Ravenhill and a few others. (Banks rented a house in an
elevated location, in an attempt to escape the heat and humidity of the
coast, but couldn't avoid sickness.)
6 NOVEMBER: Repairs on the Endeavour
begin after lengthy negotiations with the local officials. The promised
workers were also not available as many were struck down with disease.
Cook was not allowed to replace them with his own crew and costs kept
increasing.
15 NOVEMBER: The repairs are finished. The
crew begins reloading but there are only 12 able men left. Monsoons and
illness plague the next few weeks.
8 DECEMBER: They take on board a new pump
and 19 new men to replace the 30 who have died and midshipman Patrick
Saunders who deserted and was never caught.
26 DECEMBER: They leave Batavia with 40
people still sick.
1771
6 JANUARY: They stop at Princess Island
for supplies, but the water is bad and dysentery follows.
24 JANUARY: Corporal Truslove, one of the
marines, dies.
26 JANUARY: Sporing, Parkinson and
Ravenhill die.
28 JANUARY: Green dies.
30 JANUARY - 6 FEBRUARY: 11 crew die, then
7 in the next week and 3 each in the next 2 weeks.
10 MARCH: They sight Africa amid gales.
15 MARCH: They reach Capetown and anchor
in Table Bay. Quarters on shore are hired for the 29 sick; all but 3
recover.
14 APRIL: The ship leaves Capetown.
15 APRIL: Molyneux dies.
29 APRIL: The Endeavour crosses the
Greenwich meridian, their circumnavigation is complete.
1 MAY: St. Helena is reached and they meet
the British fleet posted there.
4 MAY: The Endeavour leaves for
home.
10 MAY: They sight the Ascension Islands
and experience fair sailing.
25 MAY: Hicks dies from TB.
19 JUNE: They meet an American schooner
and receive news of peace in Europe and between America and England.
21 JUNE: The sails start splitting, which
slows progress.
10 JULY: Nick Young sights Land's End.
12 JULY: The Endeavour anchors in
the Downs. Home!
For more
information on Captain Cook's Voyages, go
to: |
-
Captain James Cook.
