Issue No. 3, September 1999
Latest News
There is now a website for people to keep appraised of what is happening in the Harbour at Newport, Rhode Island. It is called Cook's ships.org and is related to the Rhode Island Marine Archeology Project http://home.ici.net/~hoaglaj/rimap/index.html.
The University of Otago Press is publishing a new book on Cook. It is entitled "Cook's sites: revisiting history" and written by Nicholas Thomas, the Professor of Anthropology at Goldsmith's College, University of London. The text is organised around photographs by Mark Adams, a New Zealand photographer, of Dusky Sound and Queen Charlotte Sound. It aims to assess Cook's role and whether he was ahero or a demon in New Zealand's history. The isbn is 1877133825 and the cost is $NZ49.95.
Te Papa has opened an exhibition with the same title. "Cook's sites", which displays material featured in the book. After three months in Wellington, the exhibition will tour the country.
Survey
I am including the results of the survey with my short interpretation of them. Unfortunately, the results have not helped to settle certain matters one way or the other. I have waited to ensure that all members who wished to reply were able to do so. Eleven members have submitted replies and the results are as follows:
Yes 7 No 4
2a. Title of the Association. There have been suggestions that the title be changed from Captain Cook Study Unit (CCSU). Do you want the named changed?
No 5 Yes 4 Maybe 2
2b. If you answered yes, do you have a suggestion for a new title?
Captain Cook Society 4
Captain James Cook Society 1
3a. NZ Meeting. Would you be interested in attending a get together early in 2000?
Yes 11 No 0
3b. If you answered yes, where would you like the meeting to take place?
Wellington 4 Marlborough Sounds 3
Auckland 4 Another location (please specify) 0
3c. And how long should the meeting last?
One day 5 Weekend 4
Other (please specify) 0
4. Newsletter. A specimen newsletter was circulated recently with a not particularly inspiring title. Please indicate your preference from a few suggestions but better still write in your own (so far nothing remotely appropriate springs to mind):
Kiwi Cook 1 New Zealand Cookery 1
A Sense of History 1 NZ Captain Cook News 1
NZ CCSU Newsletter 1 New Zealand Cook Journal 2
New Zealand James Cook Journa 1 Cook's Discovery 1
James Cook Aotearoa 1 Resolution News 1
Cook Report 1
5a. Extra NZ subscription. The production and distribution of a newsletter together with the occasional need to send out information to members will incur a cost. Are you prepared to contribute a small sum to offset photocopying, postage, etc and if so how much?
Yes 11 No 0
5b. If yes
$5 5 $10 6
6. Cook interests. People become interested in Captain Cook for many, varied reasons and it would be useful to know what aspects of Cook attracted you to him and the CCSU. Please ring as many as you like but indicate the main interest:
Maritime History 8 New Zealand History 8
Pacific History 7 Exploration History 6
Medical History 4 Philately 4
Natural History 3 Cartography 2
Hydrography 2 Cleveland links 2
Art History 2 History of Science 2
Australian History 2 Genealogy 1
Polar Regions 0 Ethnology 0
Bibliography 1 Cook as a Governor 1
Persona of Cook 1
Interpretation
Like most surveys, this one has shed a little light on a couple of matters but has served to cloud several others. At this stage seven people have said yes to paying their subscriptions through me and I am happy to be your agent. It is, of course, most acceptable for those people who have other arrangements to continue with them but please change over if and when it suits you. The title of the Society is inconclusive and, as such, the existing title should remain. As one advocating the change I am disappointed and would like the whole membership to have their say on this matter.
Everyone who replied wanted a meeting of some sort. However, there was no agreement about the length of a meeting or where it should be held. Several members qualified their replies by stating they have mobility and/or financial restrictions that would hinder their attendance. The newsletter/journal name had little or no agreement except for three people liking New Zealand (James) Cook Journal and I have taken the liberty of using it for the third copy of our Journal, without the brackets.
The extra subscription for our Journal (and other circulars) gained unanimous approval, though the amount to be collected was another split vote. I will seek guidance from the CCSU Treasurer about how to take this matter further (ie how much we ask for and how it is collected). Several people made comments about links with Australia. Most were against it citing, geography, costs and their already being members of the Australian group which was sufficient for them.
Thank you to everyone who replied.
Meetings
The responses are positive about holding a meeting in 2000 but there is no agreement about the location nor the length of such a meeting. Various reasons, including cost and lack of mobility, were given as to why attendance would be difficult for some people. I trust someone can come up with an idea that meets general approval. We would obviously want as many members to attend as possible.
Visit of Endeavour Replica
The Replica of HM Bark Endeavour will return to New Zealand in December 1999. It will arrive in Wellington on December 27th and make a short stopover there. In January, it will sail up the East Coast, before putting in to Devonport in time for the finals of the America's Cup races. At present, the Replica is on the West Coast of North America. It will reach British Colombia in October and will head across the Pacific, via Hawaii and Fiji. Details of its progress can be obtained from their website (http://www.barkendeavour.com.au/)
The New Zealand itinerary will be:
1999 Dec 27 arrives Wellington
2000 Jan 05 departs Wellington
Jan 07 arrives Nelson
Jan 17 departs Nelson
Jan 22 arrives Tauranga
Feb 02 departs Tauranga
Feb 04 arrives Devonport
Feb 28 departs Devonport
Mar 02 arrives Gisborne
Mar 06 departs Gisborne
Mar 09 arrives Wellington
Apr 17 departs Wellington
Apr 21 arrives Lyttelton
May 01 departs Lyttelton
May 05 arrives New Plymouth
May 15 departs New Plymouth
Review by John Robson of
Brown, Nigel. The Cook inventory. Auckland: the Author, 1998.
Nigel Brown is a well-known New Zealand artist. Over a period of time he has produced
many pieces dealing with Captain Cook's relationship with New Zealand and the Maori.
This book brings together 100 works ""dealing" with Cook" (the artist's term), mostly in
an unflattering way. Unfortunately, there is hardly any accompanying text in the book
that could have expanded or explained what the artist was trying to portray other than
Cook as a symbol for what Europeans have been and are in New Zealand. The works are very
monotonous and, to my eye show little skill. The book has very little to commend it.
Recent and proposed new books about Captain James Cook and his voyages:
Aughton, Peter. Endeavour: the Story of Captain Cook's First Epic Voyage.
Gloucester: The Windrush Press, 1999. 1900624303.
Captain Cook's voyages. London: Studio Editions, December 1999. 1858916089.
Captain James Cook and the explorers of the Pacific. Broomall, PA: Chelsea
House, 1999. 0791013103.
Cook, James. The Journals of Captain Cook, edited by J.C. Beaglehole.
Woodbridge, Boydell and Brewer, 1999. 0851157440.
Cook, James. The Journals of Captain Cook, edited by Philip Edwards. London:
Penguin, 1999. 0140436472.
Cook, James. The Voyages of Captain Cook, edited by John Barrow.
Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions, 1999. 1840221003.
Cook, James. Voyages of Captain James Cook. London: Curzon Press, 1999.
070071149X.
Edmond, Rod. Representing the South Pacific: colonial discourse from Cook to
Gauguin. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998. 0521550548. (as yet unseen
so Cook content not known).
Forster, George. A Voyage round the World. Honolulu: University of Hawaii
Press, October 1999. 0824820916.
Nordyke, Eleanor C. Pacific images: Views from Captain Cook's Third Voyage.
Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, November 1999. 0945048041.
Pacific empires: discovery and colonisation in the eighteenth centuries. Essays in
honour of Glyndwr Williams, edited by Alan Frost. Carlton: Melbourne University
Press, 1999. 0522847919.
Snowden, Keith. The Adventurous Captain Cook: the Life and Voyages of James Cook,
R.N., F.R.S. North Yorkshire: Castleden Publications, 1999. 0952754843.
Thomas, Nicholas. Cook's sites: visions and encounters in Southern New Zealand.
Dunedin: University of Otago Press, 1999.
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