Captain CookS
<Endeavour AN ew Replica of the Whitby Collier Will Retrace Cook's Voyages by Kevin Haydon
The Endeavour is lau nched from her construction hangar in Freman/le in December 1993.
' ' S he is of a construction that will bear to take the ground from private donors brought the job to completion . The original Endeavour was built as the Earl of Pembroke and in case of necessity may be safely and conveniently laid on shore to repair any accidental damage in 1764 in Whitby. Afterthree years of hauling coal around the or defect. These properties are not to be found in ships of war, British coast, she was commi ssioned into the Royal Navy, and in fri gates, or indeed in any other but North-country ships such renamed Endeavour. After the powerful Royal Society peti as are built for the coal trade." So wrote James Cook of the tioned King George II for a ship to take an expedition to the Whitby collier, the tough little coa l carrier that was Cook's Pacific, Endeavour was refitted and she left in Jul y 1768 for a ship of choice on hi s 1768- 1771 voyage. Her flat, wide bottom three-year circumnav igation under James Cook, who charted did allow the crew to careen her on many strange, sandy shores New Zealand and the east coast of Australia in her, claiming for repair. She survived the worst the sea could offer, including both fo r the British empire. Afterwards Endeavour made three a stranding and holing on the Great Barrier Reef. voyages to the Falklands Islands as a naval store ship, returned The original Endeavour rose from raw timber to sailing to coal hauling and in 1790 was refitted as a whaler in France. ShewasrenamedLaLiberte.In 1793 the shipwasdamaged ship within 12 months, at a cost of about ÂŁ3 ,000. The in Newport, Rhode Island , and left to rot-ju st mete rs replica compl eted and now sailing the coast of Austrafrom where Alan Bond's successful America's lia has cost $ 16 million . The story of the replica's building is almost as arduous as the original ship 's Cup syndicate was based 190 years later. One voyages underCook 'scommand- butthey were surv iving timber, a portion of the rudder post, of shorter duration. The substantial sum reprewas preserved and presented to the Australian sen ts contributions from failed spon sors, loans National Maritime Museum by the Newport from timorou s banks and outright gifts from Historical Society in 1987. Today it is a feature of the Museum 's " Discovery" di splay. two generous millionaires. The ship itse lf What is so remarkable about the replica is represents the great amount of time donated he r faithfulness to the original Endeavour's by ex pert shipwrights and other volunteers. Truly a labor of love, the new Endeavour design. The exhausti ve effort to make her as authentic as poss ibl e also accounts in large thus has no sing le spon sor but, as Project Leader John Longley has pointed out, now part for the high cost of her construction. belongs to all Australians. Early on , the project enli sted the support of James Cook was not the first European to the National Maritime Museum, Greenw ich, which made avai lable its chiefarchitect and plans e ncounte r Australia, but as captai n of th e Endeavour he was the first to chart its east coast. from its archi ves that detai led the Endeavour's When Cook dropped anchor in Botany Bay (which he Captam Jam es Cook 1768 refit. The NMM's expert on 18th-century outfitting and arming, Brian Lavery, also assisted with so named), hi s only east coast landfa ll , he set in motion the colonizing activity that signaled the beginnings of a the fitting out in Fremantle, as did Antonia Macarthur, a dramatic new phase in the continent's human history. Thus, for British specialist who researched Endeavour's furni shings. The reconstruction strategy called for the ship to be fitted Australians, Endeavour is a powerful icon standing symboli out authentically from the top of her masts to the lower mess ca ll y at the gateway to their nation 's modem history. The replica project was first proposed in 1987 by yachting deck. Below that, in the hold , comes the "20th-century modwriter and broadcaster Bruce Stannard and was taken up by the ule" with a modern engine room and crew amenities. JudiBond Corporation as its Bicentennial gift to Australia. The c ious departures from original spec ifications were necessary kee l was laid in 1988 but Bond Corporation was forced by to meet safety standards. financial difficulties to withdraw in 1990. Work eventually But one area where replication was impossible was in the resumed under the management of H.M. Bark Endeavour choice of materials. Instead of traditional elm, oak or spruce, Foundation when Bond and other owners gave their equity in Endeavour is built of nati ve Australi an hardwoods. Frames the project to the Foundation , and the Commonwealth and and planking below the waterline are of jarrah, an Australian New South Wales governments together provided loans of eucalypt said to be more rot-resistant than oak , laminated with $2.25 million to enable work to proceed. Subsequent gifts epoxy resins to provide the large scantlings required . The 30
SEA HISTORY 74, SUMMER 1995
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