Issue No. 2, June 1999
Latest News
Authorities in Rhode Island have taken steps about the sunken hulks in the harbour at Newport and claimed them for the State of Rhode Island should they prove to be the remains of famous vessels such as Cook's Endeavour. No confirmation has been made yet whether one of the hulks actually is the Endeavour.
I still have not had it confirmed but my understanding is that the replica of HM Bark Endeavour will return to New Zealand early in 2000. John Longley from the Endeavour Foundation sent me an email some months ago telling me he was negotiating with the America's Cup people for a visit at the time of the Cup's final races. The Replica, at present, is on the west coast of North America. It will reach British Columbia in October and will then head across the Pacific.
Curzon Press, a British publisher, has announced it will be publishing facsimiles of the original editions of the Journals of Cook's three voyages. It will comprise eight quarto volumes plus a folio atlas and be bound in contemporary style paper boards. Originally intended for publication in January 1999, it has been delayed until October. The price of the work will be UKP 2,500.00. The ISBN is 070071149X.
For those people with less money to spend Boydell & Brewer, another British publisher, is reprinting the Hakluyt edition of Cook's Journals, edited by New Zealander, J.C. Beaglehole. The originals were published in the 1950s and 1960s and are rightly regarded as essentials in any Cook collection. The reprint will not include Beaglehole's biography of Cook but will comprise five volumes. The price will be UKP 500.00 if ordered before the publication date of June 1999 (after then it rises to UKP 600.00). This compares favourably with current asking prices for second hand copies of the original works. The ISBN will be 0851157440.
Survey
I am sending out a second newsletter so that I can disseminate a survey, which I hope all New Zealand members of the CCSU will complete and return to me. Because we are spread throughout the country and few of us have met each other it is difficult to know what people expect of the CCSU and what is their particular interest in Cook. Several people have already replied to the first newsletter and it is evident that there is a wide range of interests including genealogy, philately and naval history. When the answers have been collated we will have a better idea of how to organise ourselves and what we can do to promote interest in Captain Cook.
Meetings
Initial responses are positive about holding a meeting in 2000 but several reservations have also been made questioning the practicalities, including cost, of attending a meeting. The Marlborough Sounds are not seen as convenient by some people and Wellington has been suggested as a better choice. The survey will help to establish the preferred location and whether a meeting is a viable proposition. We would obviously want as many members to attend as possible.
Cook's profile in New Zealand
There is a memorial to Captain Cook at Kopu near Thames, marking Cook' s rowing up the Waihou River in November 1769. Admittedly it was a totally uninspiring memorial when it was unveiled near the Waihou River to mark the 200th anniversary (Beaglehole was far less complimentary at the time) but it has since been moved to a miserable location by the side of State Highway 25. There are no signs alerting people to the memorial's presence and the area around is a mess.
To me, this is indicative of the position Cook occupies in New Zealand these days. There seems to be a Russian-style attempt to rewrite history whereby Cook's role in the history of the country is either given in a negative context or downplayed or even, in some cases, totally eliminated.
New Stamps
Several countries have released stamp issues recently that include Cook. So far I am aware of:
Spedding, J.M. The Courtship of Cook. Russell, N.Z.: Russell Museum, 1999.
This is an eight page A5 pamphlet. It attempts to recreate the meeting and courtship of James Cook and Elizabeth Batts, inventing dialogue to suit its purpose. Unfortunately it does not succeed and perpetuates some unproven stories such as John Constable writing about Cook being Elizabeth's sponsor at her Christening. Elizabeth Cook seems destined to be badly served by writers, this book coming only a few years after Shirley Sinclair's disappointing "Elizabeth Cook: the Captain's wife". For a more complete version of events read Julia Rae's book "Captain James Cook Endeavours", a much better book. However the Spedding book is only NZ$1.00, available from Russell Museum.
John Robson
232 b Old Farm Road, Hamilton
ph home 07-856-4807 work 07-856-2889 x 6511
johnrobs@voyager.co.nz
j.robson@waikato.ac.nz