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ENDEAVOUR under sail

Artist Ross Shardlow

Date1988-1989

Object number00047853

NamePainting

MediumWatercolour on paper

DimensionsOverall: 568 × 764 mm

ClassificationsArt

Credit LineAustralian National Maritime Museum Collection Gift from Endeavour Replica Foundation

Terms

DescriptionA watercolour ship portrait by Ross Shadlow of HMB ENDEAVOUR Replica. Depicts a starboard elevation, with the vessel under full sail with the ships' boats hoisted in and stowed. This is one of three water colours commissioned and painted in 1988 and 1989 to commemorate the building in Fremantle (Western Australia) of the HMB ENDEAVOUR Replica. HistoryCook's famous first ship of discovery was built in 1764 and initially named the EARL OF PEMBROKE. It began service as a collier on the east coast of England and was later purchased by the British Admiralty in 1768, fitted out for a voyage to the South Pacific with the intention of observing the transit of Venus and locating -if it existed- the Great South Land. The Royal Navy renamed the vessel HM Bark ENDEAVOUR. Under Cook's command and during his first expedition to the Pacific HMB ENDEAVOUR arrived in Tahiti to observe the transit of Venus in June 1769. Cook then sailed south and reached New Zealand in October 1769, as 'discovered' by Abel Tasman in 1642. After mapping both the north and south islands, Cook started the journey home. It was during this voyage that he first approached eastern Australia, first sighting Point Hicks. An attempt to land on 28 April 1770 failed due to rough surf, so Cook subsequently sailed ENDEAVOUR into a calm bay further to the north, now known as Botany Bay. Here on 29 April 1770, Cook and his crew first set foot on Australian soil. The extensive report he compiled on Botany Bay, including comment regarding the safety of the harbour and availability of fresh water, became the 'sign post' for Captain Arthur Phillip to land the First Fleet there on 18 January 1788. During the expedition's return passage to England on 11 June 1770, the ENDEAVOUR ran aground on what is now called Endeavour Reef in the Great Barrier Reef. The ship was taking on water and after two unsuccessful attempts to pull it into open water, Cook opted to lighten ENDEAVOUR's load by discarding about 40 to 50 tons of equipment and ballast before once more trying to float it off the reef. ENDEAVOUR eventually floated free and Cook sailed along the far north Queensland coast, mooring in a river to make repairs, now called Endeavour River. When Cook returned to England from his great circumnavigation in 1771, he relinquished command and the Admiralty once again refitted ENDEAVOUR. This time it was equipped as a store ship for voyages to the Falkland Islands. In 1775, the ENDEAVOUR was discharged from the Royal Navy and is believed to have been sold to a merchant, who renamed the vessel LORD SANDWICH and operated it as a troop transport. It is believed that during the American Revolutionary War the British sank LORD SANDWICH with other vessels in 1778 at the entrance to Newport Harbour, Rhode Island, as an attempt to blockade French ships and prevent them from landing equipment and supplies for the American revolutionary forces.SignificanceThese watercolours of the ENDEAVOUR Replica by marine artist Ross Shardlow are gifted items to the Australian National Maritime Museum (ANMM) from the ENDEAVOUR Replica Foundation. They were commissioned in 1988 by the ENDEAVOUR Replica Foundation to commemorate the completion of the HMB ENDEAVOUR Replica, which is now an iconic feature of the ANMM's historic fleet.

The views are of the vessel at anchor (recognisable by the drying laundry in the rigging and the three ship's boats in the water) and of the vessel underway (recognisable by the stowed boats, the streaming pennant and the billowing sail)