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The First Voyage: A re-discovery of Australia with Captain James Cook
The First Voyage: A re-discovery of Australia with Captain James Cook

The First Voyage: A re-discovery of Australia with Captain James Cook

Maker
Date1970
Object number00046909
NameRecord
MediumVinyl
DimensionsOverall: 0.5 x 174 mm
ClassificationsSound communication
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Margaret Scott
DescriptionA vinyl record, titled 'The First Voyage: A re-discovery of Australia with Captain James Cook'. This record is part of an educational set produced by Shell Oil including a commemorative map (00046910). The characters listed on the recording are 'James Cook, Joseph Banks Esq., Lt. Zachary Hicks, Midshipman Issac Smith, Dr Carl Solander, Tupia the Tahitian'.HistoryJames Cook was born at Marton, North Yorkshire on 27 October 1728. By the age of 20 he was serving an apprenticeship in the port of Whitby, gaining skills in navigation and mathematics under the coal shipper John Walker. In 1755 Cook joined the Royal Navy and was made master's mate on HMS EAGLE. Soon after he was promoted to Master of the PEMBROKE and conducted survey work on the St Lawrence River in Quebec, and the coasts of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. In 1768 Cook was chosen by the Admiralty to conduct an expedition to the Pacific in command of HMB ENDEAVOUR, to view the Transit of Venus and to locate the Great South Land. It was during this voyage that Cook surveyed the east coast of Australia and claimed it for King George III. He undertook two more voyages to the Pacific for the Admiralty, the second in command of RESOLUTION and ADVENTURE with the hope of still finding the Great South Land and the third in command of RESOLUTION and DISCOVERY to locate the elusive Northwest Passage. It was during this third voyage that Cook visited Hawaii, then called the Sandwich Islands and was killed on 14 February 1779 in an altercation with the local Hawaiians.SignificanceFrom humble beginnings James Cook rose to preeminence following his first and second voyages to the Pacific and Antarctic regions. After his death in Hawaii during the third voyage he was widely regarded as a hero - a status which he continues to hold in many circles.
The production of Cook memorabilia two centuries after his death attests to the continuing public fascination with the life and career of James Cook. This vinyl record joins the large body of commemorative material and souvenirs associated with the famous explorer.