Date: Fri 10-Jul-1998

Publication: Ant

Author: SHANNO

Quick Words:

Endeavour-Banks-Cook-Norwalk

Full Text:

A FLOATING HISTORY MUSEUM: HMS ENDEAVOUR TO VISIT CT w/ 2 cuts

B Y S HANNON H ICKS

NORWALK, CONN. - Two centuries ago, the esteemed botanist Sir Joseph Banks

accompanied Captain James Cook on a voyage of discovery aboard the HMS

Endeavour . With Captain Cook's ship under the command of Sir Banks, the

three-year expedition would return home to England to forever change botanical

history and the world's maps.

James Cook is considered one of history's greatest explorers. His reputation

lives in the ranks of Vasco de Gama and Christopher Columbus. In 1770, Capt

Cook became the first man to circumnavigate New Zealand. He then discovered

Australia - until that point considered a legendary and fabled continent.

For his part, the wealthy naturalist Sir Banks discovered over 1,400 new

plants. His findings increased the number of plants known to scientists by

nearly 25 percent. It took nearly 100 years for scientists to examine all the

specimens collected by Banks.

Today, a replica of the grand vessel is making its way up the East Coast,

under the command of Captain Christopher Blake. The new Endeavour has been

built to the exact specifications of the original.

"The most perfect replica ever built," as it has been described by The

Maritime Museum of Great Britain, the floating museum was launched in

Australia, where she was built, in December 1993.

In the spirit of her predecessor, the Endeavour replica is also

circumnavigating the globe. She departed Fremantle, Australia, in early 1994

and has since completed tours of Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the

United Kingdom and the Atlantic Islands. She has covered more than 24,710

nautical miles.

The Endeavour is currently on the second leg of her world tour. She will visit

Connecticut this month, one of 16 ports chosen for the East Coast tour.

The public is invited to open tours above and below deck. Endeavour is

scheduled to pull into the waters of Norwalk Harbor some time on Friday, July

10. She will open for public tours the following day, and remain at Norwalk

Public Docks in Veterans Memorial Park until July 20. The final day for public

tours will be Sunday, July 19.

Tours will be conducted from noon to 5 pm during the ship's first weekend in

Norwalk Harbor. From July 13-19, tour hours will extend, running 10 am to 6:30

pm each day.

Tickets are $25 for families (two adults and three children/students under

18), $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, and $5 for children/students under 18.

Proceeds will continue to support the vessel's educational mission. (Please

note, there are no advance ticket sales to tour Endeavour .)

Searching The Unknown

The collier East of Pembroke was purchased in March 1768 by the Royal Navy,

with the express purpose of being converted. One year later, the Endeavour ,

as she was re-christened, became the first vessel commanded by Capt Cook.

Endeavour was then commissioned by King George to undertake a voyage of

discovery to the South Pacific. The ship was the first in history specifically

sent out for scientific investigation and exploration. Lt Cook received his

final secret instructions for the voyage on July 30, 1768.

James Cook had been promoted to lieutenant by British Admiralty after he built

his reputation for navigation and charting while working in North America

between 1758-65.

The reasons for Cook's first Pacific voyage were threefold: first, Cook was

instructed to establish an observatory at Tahiti to view the Transit of Venus

on June 3, 1769 (The data obtained from this, and similar observation stations

around the world, eventually helped determine the distance between the sun and

the earth, information that is vital to navigation).

Second, after leaving Tahiti, Lt Cook was to then search for "the southern

continent," and make other discoveries in the name of George III.

Third, the voyage was to be of natural history observation and discovery. This

final aim was inspired, financed and directed by the wealthy 25-year old

Joseph Banks.

Endeavour reached the east coast of Australia, at Botany Bay, in April 1770.

Unfortunately, the Australian experience was dominated by the desperate

struggle to keep the ship afloat after she struck part of the reef along the

Queensland coast on June 10, 1770.

While seeking safety for his wounded ship, Capt Cook claimed Australia in the

name of King George III. While Capt Cook was not the first person, nor even

the first European, to "discover" Australia, he was the first to accurately

chart part of its coastline and place the continent in relation to known

waters.

The voyage was completed on July 12, 1771. For Sir Joseph, the voyage was

distinguished by the excellence of his survey work: the identification and

documentation of over 1,400 plants, and more than 1,100 animals previously

unknown to European science. Banks is credited with discovering, among other

animals, the kangaroo.

Upon his return, Captain Cook was awarded The Copley Medal by The Royal

Society. The honor is the Society's highest award for scientific achievement.

His accuracy was so solid, many of Cook's maps have only recently been

superseded.

A coal carrier in her previous life, Endeavour 's final days were spent as a

French whaling vessel working out of New England in the 1790s. Renamed La

Liberte , the vessel's sturdy timbers withstood years of punishment, but when

she was chased into port by a British warship, she was damaged and sank off

Newport, R.I.

Endeavour/La Liberte 's remains continue to lie in the waters of Newport, the

next stop on the North American tour for the replica Endeavour .

Open For Visitors

During each nine-day docking, the Endeavour exhibition transports visitors

back to 1768. Upon arrival into each port, education officer Kim Fitzgerald

arranges artifacts - most replicas, but some original items - throughout the

vessel so that visitors have a sense of stepping back more than 200 years in

time. Among the items on view is a piece of the original ship's iron ballast.

The lower deck is set up to look exactly as it would have 230 years ago. One

side reflects daytime activities, with tables set for a meal, and the other is

equipped for night, right down to the sailcloth hammocks sailors would have

slept on. Visitors can compare the sleeping quarters that were used by the

different levels of the ship's crew, whether marines, officers, captain and

"the gentlemen" (the scientists and artists).

The captain's quarters - The Great Cabin - is set up with charts, logs,

drawings and a plant specimen.

"She's a museum," says Marcia Powell, director of Marcia Powell Enterprises,

the Connecticut liaison for the H.M. Bark Endeavour Foundation. "They have

some original artifacts on board that came back from the original Endeavour

voyage, as well as some replicas.

"People with maritime interests should enjoy this very much."

Feeling adventurous? In exchange for a two-hour night watch and some swabbing

of the decks of the big ship, heartier souls will be rewarded with a free

night onboard Endeavour . To volunteer, call the Endeavour Volunteer Hotline,

203/854-3216.

Even more adventurous mariners are being invited to apply for voyage crew

berths aboard Endeavour . The H.M. Bark Endeavour Foundation is accepting

applications for available amateur crew berths on the remaining legs of the

tall ship's East Coast tour: Norwalk, Conn.-Newport, R.I.; Newport-Boston;

Boston-New Bedford, Mass.; New Bedford-Portsmouth, N.H.; Portsmouth-Bath, Me.;

Bath-Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Fee for the voyage between each port is $750. The ship also carries up to four

supernumerary passengers, who pay a fee of $1,500 and choose their own level

of involvement in crewing the vessel.

Following nine days of public exhibition in each host port, the vessel departs

on a Monday and sails in the Atlantic before arriving at the next port on a

Friday. During this time, voyage crew members experience the life of

Eighteenth Century sailors. As in that period, crew hammocks are on the lower

deck, officers occupy tiny cabins, and supernumerary passengers live in the

gentleman's accommodations in the afterfall.

Endeavour is manned in accordance with international maritime regulations. Key

officers and crew positions are filled by full-time professionals. The balance

of the crew is drawn from the experienced amateurs who sign on as voyage crew.

Sir Joseph's Discoveries

Connecticut is one of a limited number of states hosting a complementary

exhibition of photographs presenting some of Sir Joseph Banks' plant, insect

and animal discoveries during an Endeavour visit. While James Cook returned to

England and was roundly received by the British navy, Joseph Banks became

better known in the eyes of the public.

Produced by National Geographic Society, "Sir Joseph Banks: The Greening of

the Empire" presents large-panel photographs taken by National Geographic

photographer Cary Wolinsky of some of Sir Banks' discoveries.

In addition to the pictures, original specimens and drawings from Sir Banks'

personal collection, excerpts from his Endeavour journal, prints from the

Banks Forilegium and a slide show of exotic wildflowers found in western

Australia are on view.

"Joseph Banks: The Greening of the Empire" consists of 40 large-panel

photographs. In Norwalk, 25 of the ten-foot high panels will be shown at The

Maritime Aquarium, 10 North Water Street; the remaining panels will be at The

Norwalk Museum, at 41 North Main Street. The aquarium show will be open daily

10 am-6 pm, and admission will be charged; the museum show is free of charge

and will be open daily 10 am-5 pm.

In two weeks: Endeavour's arrival.