The Endeavour Journals

Captain Cook in Australia

John Macdonald, Clare MacDonald, John MacDonald

• Publisher: Pen and Sword History
• Year: 2024
• Topic: History
• eBook ISBN:
  9781399064118
• Subtopic: Historical Biographies
• Index: History

In 1770 H.M. Bark Endeavour arrived in New Holland, Australia, the 'Continent of Smoke'. On board were Lieutenant James Cook, gentleman naturalist Joseph Banks, natural history artist Sydney Parkinson, and Midshipman James Magra. For the first time, this book combines the journals of these men to present a single, cohesive narrative that brings the story to life as never before. The journals are complimented by over 300 images, including charts, costal profiles, plans of harbors, and many original drawings executed during the voyage of the animals, people and landscape unique to the region. Of the many titles that are available concerning Cook and his voyaging, few focus on Cook's New Holland experience. Most commonly these titles are interpretative accounts, and heavily weighted with the author's opinion. However, here the story of New Holland is told in the words of the explorers themselves, containing first hand accounts of all the elements of drama, risk and first discovery. Focusing particularly on the contact with the Indigenous people and how they were first described by Europeans, this is an adaption of the discovery story made accessible to the general reader as well as the historian, without compromising the integrity of the original document. These adventurers were men of their own time, constrained by the common beliefs that fashioned the lives of people two hundred and fifty years ago. If some of their words sit uncomfortably with current thinking, we should remind ourselves that some of our own beliefs and actions, might similarly be thought beyond the pale by future generations, and that we too may find ourselves the target of criticism from those who come after us.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Contents by Geographical Division
• Colour Plates
• The Endeavour Journals
• The Authors
• Prologue
• Continent of Smoke
• Chapter 1 A Certain Sign the Country is Inhabited
• Chapter 2 Resolved to Dispute our Landing to the Utmost
• Chapter 3 All They Seemed to Want Was For Us To Be Gone
• Chapter 4 To Try To Form Some Connections With The Natives
• Chapter 5 A Great Quantity of Smoke
• Chapter 6 Mister Orton He Is A Man Not Without Faults
• Chapter 7 Not One Drop of Which We Could Find
• Chapter 8 Fear of Death Now Stared Us in the Face
• Chapter 9 Nor Have We Seen One Since We Have Been in Port
• Chapter 10 Their Unaccountable Timidity
• Chapter 11 Two of Them Embarked and Came Towards the Ship
• Chapter 12 Our Very Good Friends
• Chapter 13 A Countenance Full of Disdain
• Chapter 14 Lumber Not Worth Carriage
• Chapter 15 Cape Flattery
• Chapter 16 The Indians Had Been Here
• Chapter 17 Great Dangers Swallow Up Lesser Ones
• Chapter 18 More Happier Than We Europeans
• Epilogue
• Glossary of Terms
• Ship’s Muster on Endeavour
• Notes
• Acknowledgments
• Plates