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Vue de la Riviere d'Endeavour sur la Cote de la Nouvelle Hollande ou le Vaisseau sur mis a la bande
Vue de la Riviere d'Endeavour sur la Cote de la Nouvelle Hollande ou le Vaisseau sur mis a la bande

Vue de la Riviere d'Endeavour sur la Cote de la Nouvelle Hollande ou le Vaisseau sur mis a la bande

Engraver (French, born 1729)
Artist (c 1745 - 1771)
Date1774
Object number00000955
NamePrint
MediumPaper, printing ink, hand colouring
DimensionsOverall: 20.5 × 33.5 mm
Mount / Matt size (B Size Fini Mount): 407 × 560 mm
ClassificationsArt
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionEngraving 'View of Endeavour river on the coast of New Holland where the boat was beached' from the French edition of Captain James Cook's account of his voyage on the ENDEAVOUR, published in Paris, 1774. Engraved by Pierre Jacques Duret after a drawing by Sydney Parkinson, the artist aboard the ENDEAVOUR.HistoryOn the 10th June 1770 the ENDEAVOUR hit an outcrop on what is now known as the Great Barrier Reef. After off loading approximately 50 tons of excess weight, the crew were able to refloat the ship but there was extensive damage and the ENDEAVOUR was in desperate need of repairs. Cook found a suitable location nearly a week later and he named the area, Endeavour River. Once here, ENDEAVOUR was beached and the remaining heavy equipment and supplies were unloaded on shore, a tent erected and work began on the damaged hull. The ship and crew were at the Endeavour River for seven weeks. During this time Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander made extensive collections of the native flora and Sydney Parkinson made extensive illustrations, including this one of work being carried out on the ENDEAVOUR and further activity onshore. Another significant series of events also took place here. The crew of the ENDEAVOUR made contact and had interactions with the local indigenous community, the Guugu Yimithirr. Initially a positive encounter, tensions did flare up and at one point shots were fired at the Guugu Yimithirr, injuring a man. Although Cook recorded that the situation was ultimately reconciled, under the initiation of peace by a Guugu Yimithirr elder, interaction between the groups did not occur again in the final days that the Europeans were there. During his stay, Parkinson recorded 130 words of the Guugu Yimithirr language in his journal. It is likely that this was the first written record of any Aboriginal language in this country. One of these words was "gangaroo" - or as we know it today, "kangaroo". SignificanceParkinson was the first European artist to set foot on Australian soil and to draw the Australian landscape. He had been hired by Joseph Banks and before his death onboard in 1771, Parkinson compiled over 1300 drawings of flora and fauna specimans, landscapes and the indigenous populations throughout the Pacific.