 |
| Whitby Captain Cook Monument |
James Cook was born in Marton, North Yorkshire 7th November 1728. He became a naval officer, explorer and cartographer conducting three voyages of discovery between 1768 and 1769.
 |
| Captain James Cook |
In 1747 he became a merchant navy apprentice with the Walker family, shipowners from Whitby.
James Cook stayed with the Walkers in their house in Whitby which now houses the Captain Cook Memorial Museum.
 |
| Whitby Walker's House VM Captain Cook Memorial Museum |
 |
| Whitby Walker's House Kangaroo VM Captain Cook Memorial Museum |
 |
| Whitby Walker's House Dining Room Captain Cook Memorial Museum |
He learnt his trade over several years on the Walker's colliers plying their trade between the Tyne and London.
 |
| Captain Cook Memorial Museum Walker House and Collier |
In 1752 he completed his apprentice ship and worked on Baltic Sea trading ships.
Cook volunteered for the Royal Navy in 1755 and fought in the Seven Years War from 1754 to 1763. During his service he demonstrated a talent for surveying and cartography. This brought him to the attention of the Admiralty and Royal Society who selected him to undertake voyages of scientific discovery and exploring unknown territories.
Between 1768 till his death in Hawaii in 1779 Cook conducted three voyages to the Pacific, Antarctica and the Artic., including circumnavigation of the globe on his first voyage. Captain James Cook was killed in Hawaii on his third expedition.
 |
| Captain Cooks Voyages |
 |
| Captain Cook Memorial Museum VM contemplating global circumnavigation |
 |
| Captain Cook Memorial Museum Whitby Harbour Endeavour Replica |
 |
| Captain Cook Memorial Museum Whitby Harbour Endeavour Replica VM IJ |
First voyage (1768–1771) HMB Endeavour
 |
| Captain Cook First Voyage |
Captain Cooks first voyage was a joint Admiralty-Royal Society expedition to the Pacific. It's aim was to observe the Transit of Venus to calculate the distance from the Earth to the Sun. Captain Cook would command HMB Endeavour, a converted Whitby collier on his first expedition.
 |
| Captain Cook Memorial Museum HMB Endeavour 1768 |
 |
| HMB Endeavour |
HMB Endeavour left Plymouth on the 25th August 1768. It sailed to Tierra del Fuego where it took on provisions. After rounding Cape Horn the Endeavour then sailed to Matavai Bay, Tahiti arriving in April 1769. The scientists on board observed the Transit of Venus, but their results proved inconclusive.
 |
| Captain Cook observing the Transit of Venus |
In July 1769 Endeavour left Tahiti and arrived off the coast of New Zealand three months later. New Zealand was relatively unknown and Cook began it's exploration which resulted in some violent encounters with the indigenous Maori.
 |
| Captain Cook New Zealand Maori's |
Cook sailed for Australia in March 1770 where he explored the east coast and made the first landing at Botany Bay. He claimed the coast for Britain and named it New South Wales.
 |
| Captain Cook lands at Botany Bay |
Leaving Australia, the Endeavour took on provisions and undertook repairs at Batavia (modern-day Jakarta). Returning via Cape Horn, and calling at Rio de Janeiro. The Endeavour sailed into the River Thames on 16th July 1771 having completed a circumnavigation of the globe.
Second voyage (1772–1775) HMS Resolution
 |
| Captain Cook Second Voyage |
The Second of Cook's Voyages would see him return to the Pacific to search for the Great Southern Continent which it was believed must exist to balance the landmasses of the Northern Hemisphere.
 |
| HMS Resolution |
Commanding HMS Resolution, Cook left Plymouth on 13th July 1771 accompanied by HMS Adventure. They sailed via the Cape of Good Hope where they took on board supplies in October. From there they travelled south to Antarctica reaching the ice sheet on 14th December 1772. Cook's expedition searched for any breaks in the iceshelf and collected ice samples, before turning North. The ships would be the first know to have crossed the Antarctic Circle.
 |
| HMS Resolution and Adventure Antarctica 1773 |
 |
| HMS Resolution and Adventure Tahiti August 1773 |
As the ships sailed south in October 1773 they lost each other in a storm. HMS Adventure returned to Britain, Captain Cook and HMS Resolution continued the journey south to Antarctica.
 |
| Captain Cook HMS Resolution Antarctica 1773 |
After exploring the area around Antarctica Cook concluded 'a Southern Continent, mentioned by all authors who have written on this subject, whose assertions and conjectures are now entirely refuted'.
 |
| Captain Cook Southern Hemisphere Mapping |
Cook explored the Pacific further landing at Easter Island, Tahiti, Niue, Tonga, New Hebrides and Norfolk Island. He returned to New Zealand to take on supplies before heading to the Cape of Good Hope.
Returning to the UK via St Helena Captain Cook and Endeavour reached Portsmouth on 30th July 1775.
Third voyage (1776–1779) HMS Resolution
 |
| Captain Cook Third Voyage |
The third of Captain Cook's voyages was aimed at discovering the North West Passage from the Pacific to the North Atlantic.
Cook sailed in HMS Resolution from Plymouth 12th July 1776 to the Cape of Good Hope where it was joined by HMS Discovery in November 1776. The ships set sail from the Cape to New Zealand in December 1776.
 |
| HMS Resolution and HMS Discovery |
In December they sailed to New Zealand arriving in February 1777. They continued their journey via Tonga and Tahiti to the Hawaiian Islands. The two ships then proceeded north the Sandwich Islands then onward to Vancouver island to take on supplies arriving March 1778.
 |
| Vancouver Island |
The expedition reached Alaska in May 1778 and began searching for the North West Passage which proved to be unsuccessful.
 |
| Captain Cook searching for North West Passage |
On 26th October 1776 Cook and his expedition sailed south to winter in Hawaii arriving in January 1779. After provisioning Resolution and Discovery headed back north in February, however damage to Resolution's mast meant they had to return back to Hawaii anchoring in Kealakakua Bay.
 |
| Captain Cook anchors in Kealakakua Bay Hawaii |
It was in Hawaii following a dispute over a stolen boat that Captain James Cook was killed on a beach along with four marines on 14th February 1779. His body was buried at sea.
 |
| Captain Cook's Death Kealakakua Bay Hawaii 14 Feb 1779 |
 |
| Captain Cook Burial at Sea |
.JPG) |
| Captain Cook Memorial Museum Whitby |
.JPG) |
| Captain Cook Memorial Museum Whitby |
.JPG) |
| Captain Cook Memorial Museum Whitby |
.JPG) |
| Captain Cook Memorial Museum Whitby |
