Ships were lost during these dark voyages, and said to have had a high death rate; the crew of the Endeavour left more than half its number, including Cook himself, on an island in the South Pacific as a form of punishment for some misdemeanour. A similar fate befell some Japanese seamen who were employed by Commodore Perry on his epic voyage to open the country to trade in the 1850s.
The voyage from Otaheite (the future Tahiti) back to England, which saw no deaths as a direct result of the ship's 'black hole' confinement, was the most treacherous in Cook's entire career.
'It was very dreadful,' wrote the midshipman whose watch it was when the Endeavour began taking in water. 'Some of the men almost died before they could be brought to their senses; as for the sick, they could not hold down their water . . . The water rose so fast that we were obliged to cut the cable and make sail to preserve the ship. By God's mercy the weather became fair in a short time, and that made the end of our difficulties.'
From this stage, the Endeavour, which had brought the world to the other side of the world, also became the source of the very first true historical documents to reach Europe, via Tahiti. These documents were Cook's log and an account of his voyage by the ship's astronomer, Charles Green.
In his capacity as master navigator, Cook produced a meticulously precise account of the voyage which contained, as its crowning glory, the first detailed map of New Zealand's great southern island.
Cook himself wrote up his observations of a number of events to provide details of the geology, flora and fauna, and natural history.
'I have thought it might be some assistance in the advancement of knowledge to Mr Green, Mr Banks and myself,' Cook wrote, 'to have some account of such remarkable places, of the nature and productions of the inhabitants, with their manner of living and customs, in short of the country.'
It was a brave move – and one which would have far-reaching consequences for the people of Aotearoa/New Zealand, in Cook's time and ever since.
On the day the Endeavour arrived back in London, its commander went to meet the Prince of Wales, the future George IV, to whom he presented a kangaroo skin and fur hat, explaining that the animals and birds had 'behaved very well in confinement'. Cook then went on to meet the Prime Minister, William Pitt, who had come out of a Cabinet meeting, in protest against his appointment by Lord Sandwich as commander-in-chief of the Pacific fleet. 'Mr Pitt,' wrote Cook in his journal, 'came into the outer room and said he did not think His Majesty would approve of this choice.'
But the appointment of Cook had been made; and, on 25 January 1771, a month after his triumphant arrival back in England, Cook was officially appointed as commander of HMS Dolphin, a converted 40-gun bomb vessel being built on the Thames at Blackwall. The ship would be ready to sail on 5 June and, a week earlier, on 29 May, the Admiralty wrote to its new commander asking if he would take on a new recruit. The man who was asked to come on board at that moment was Joseph Banks.
While Cook had been in the South Pacific, the Royal Society had been working with Banks and other sponsors to come up with an official plan for Cook's second voyage. This, it was decided, should be a strictly scientific mission, with the main object of gathering as much knowledge of New Zealand and Australia as possible. The main scientific instruments would include a new invention – the pantograph, a sophisticated telescope and the microscope. The main ship would still be the Endeavour, and it would be accompanied by a second vessel, the sloop HMS Supply.
The expedition was going to cost the country a colossal £16,000, which was about seven times what it had cost to mount the great voyage of Captain James Cook, and more than four times the budget of Lord Sandwich's two expeditions.
However, the cost didn't stop there. Cook and Banks were also prepared to spend a huge amount of money in the form of the expedition's own supply of commodities like iron, gunpowder, shot, lead, copper, brass, tin, copper, silk, wine, spirits, beer, soap, candles, candles, vinegar, earthenware, olive oil, vinegar, tobacco, ironwork, gunpowder, rum, beer, porter, oil, bread, butter, pork, beef, fowls, beer, rice, peas, potatoes, oatmeal, soap, candles, candles, soap, tar, tallow candles, sulphur, gunpowder, tobacco, tin, tea, beer, rum, butter, pork, beef, fowls, vinegar, pease, tea, earthenware, brandy, wine, beer, pork, beef, etc, etc, and everything you could think of to get them into New Zealand.
The expedition left Portsmouth at 2 a.m. on Thursday, 26 August 1772.
After a month at sea, the first land the ships had sighted was that of the Dutch colony of Ambon – followed by a series of other islands around New Guinea, the Solomons, and the Marquesas, which Cook named after Admiral Lord Maurice of the Admiralty. He was then off Australia and sailed into the calm waters of Port Jackson, which was soon known as Cook's or Botany Bay.
The Endeavour went further south, and finally called in at what they called Cape York, in the northwest of the country. This was in May 1770, more than three years before Banks and Cook set out. They didn't have to wait long to have their first encounter with the Maori.
## 4. New Zealand
### The first encounters
Their first contact with the Maori came at dawn. Banks, on board the Dolphin, had seen some of the natives on the shore while he and Cook were still anchored near the mainland. Both vessels landed and Banks set off on an expedition with his friend Captain Furneaux.
At the same time, one of the Endeavour's young officers, Lieutenant Gore, was out shooting in the bush. He had taken along a Tahitian, named Tupia, who spoke some Tahitian and a little English. The two men were walking on the beach near a Maori settlement, when Gore saw a number of men chasing away the native women and children.
The Endeavour crewmen were soon drawn into the pursuit, when Tupia started shouting out in the Maori language.
'Tupia,' Gore told him, 'stop! the chief of the island is dead.'
The young Tahitian, however, refused to heed any advice and grabbed hold of Gore's sleeve, asking him 'do you know who I am?'
A man of about 30 was standing by, and his body had been torn by three arrows. Gore, who had been sent to the Endeavour from the royal Newfoundland regiment by the Prime Minister, Lord North, knew what to do.
'The natives, seeing the young fellow, all ran off. The chiefs, however, having got him safe on board their canoe, we carried him on board, and gave him water to drink. Tupia, who spoke the language, informed him by signs that there were about six dead men lying on the beach, but nobody dared go to take them away. Our people soon loaded the canoe, and after paying a handsome compliment to the chief, who had come on board with us, we made sail, leaving the dead body.'
From Gore's and Tupia's description, the chief must have been one of the leaders of the Waitaha people, who had settled in the Bay of Islands a few years earlier. The ship was anchored in the bay, and the chief said he was surprised that an enemy – the men who had killed the women and children on the beach – had come and anchored off his village without informing him.
'He seemed a little surprised, when informed that we came from the great King George of England, that we had sent to him and obtained his permission to anchor here, and he was now very well pleased.'
A number of the natives came to the ship to see the chief. In the course of the ensuing conversation, which was all in Maori, Gore noticed that several of the men had their heads bandaged up. 'I observed,' he wrote, 'that one of the chiefs who were present had a part of his head wrapped up, as had all his attendants. Our boatswain's mate told me they had lost their heads some time before, and he supposed by sea-sorcery. In this case we took every pains to remove their sorrow, and gave them a piece of blue cloth to wear about their necks.'
The friendly contact was interrupted by a shout from the Dolphin, where Banks and Tupia were ashore, telling Gore to prepare to go to sea as soon as he could. Tupia was unhappy at having to leave and tried to stay behind. Banks threatened to shoot him with a musket, if he did not get away immediately. A little later, the ship weighed anchor and was ready to set sail.
Banks then offered a second boat, which contained 16 guns, as well as muskets
