Captain James Cook discovers and names Botany Bay.
James
Cook was born at Marton in North Yorkshire, on 27 October 1728. As the
son of a farm labourer, he held no great ambitions, being apprenticed in
a grocer/haberdashery when he was 16. Lack of aptitude in the trade led
his employer to introduce Cook to local shipowners, who took him on as a
merchant navy apprentice. Here he was educated in algebra,
trigonometry, navigation, and astronomy, which later set Cook up to
command his own ship.
Cook was hired in 1766 by the Royal Society to travel to the Pacific
Ocean to observe and record the transit of Venus across the Sun.
Following this, Cook's next orders were to search the south Pacific for
Terra Australis Incognita, the great southern continent that many
believed must extend around the southern pole. He came across New
Zealand, which Abel Tasman had discovered in 1642, and spent some months
there, charting the coastline.
Nearly a year later, Cook set sail west for New Holland, which was later
to become Australia. On 29 April 1770 Cook's vessel, the Endeavour,
sailed into Botany Bay, after first sighting the eastern coast of
Australia ten days earlier. He described the bay as being "tolerably
well sheltered", and initially named it Stingray Bay, after the large
numbers of stingray he noted. The name was later changed to Botany Bay
due to the vast numbers of new and unique botanical specimens noted by
the ship's botanists, including Joseph Banks. Cook named Cape Solander
and Cape Banks after Banks and Finnish botanist Daniel Solander. He then
landed at Kurnell, allowing the cabin boy, Isaac Smith, to be the first
known European to step foot on the soil of "New South Wales".
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Saturday, April 28, 2012
On This Day April 28, 1789
Fletcher Christian leads the mutiny against Captain Bligh on the 'HMS Bounty'.
Fletcher Christian was born in Cumberland, England, on 25 September 1764. He went to sea at the age of sixteen, and two years later he sailed aboard HMS Cambridge where he met William Bligh for the first time. Bligh, born on 9 September 1754, had also started his seagoing career at the age of 16, quickly rising through the officer ranks. Bligh and Christian were very close during their early years together.
The 'HMS Bounty' sailed with a crew of 45 men from Spithead, England in December 1787 under Captain William Bligh, bound for Tahiti. Their mission was to collect breadfruit plants to be transplanted in the West Indies as cheap food for the slaves. After collecting those plants, Bounty was returning to England when, on the morning of 28 April 1789, Fletcher Christian and part of the crew mutinied, taking over the ship, and setting the Captain and 18 crew members adrift in the ship’s 23-foot launch. Captain Bligh sailed nearly 6000km back to England, arriving there on 14 March 1790, where he was initially court-martialed and ultimately acquitted. The mutineers took HMS Bounty back to Tahiti, and collected 6 Polynesian men and 12 women. They then continued on to Pitcairn Island, arriving there on 15 January 1790. After burning the ship they established a settlement and colony on Pitcairn Island that still exists.
In 1808, Captain Mayhew Folger of the American sealing ship 'Topaz' landed at Pitcairn Islands. By that stage, many of the mutineers had succumbed to disease, suicide or been victims of murder. Of all the men, both whites and Polynesians, only John Adams survived. Adams, by then a changed man after his conversion to Christianity, went on to become the respected leader on Pitcairn. He died on 5 March 1829, forty years after the mutiny.
Fletcher Christian was born in Cumberland, England, on 25 September 1764. He went to sea at the age of sixteen, and two years later he sailed aboard HMS Cambridge where he met William Bligh for the first time. Bligh, born on 9 September 1754, had also started his seagoing career at the age of 16, quickly rising through the officer ranks. Bligh and Christian were very close during their early years together.
The 'HMS Bounty' sailed with a crew of 45 men from Spithead, England in December 1787 under Captain William Bligh, bound for Tahiti. Their mission was to collect breadfruit plants to be transplanted in the West Indies as cheap food for the slaves. After collecting those plants, Bounty was returning to England when, on the morning of 28 April 1789, Fletcher Christian and part of the crew mutinied, taking over the ship, and setting the Captain and 18 crew members adrift in the ship’s 23-foot launch. Captain Bligh sailed nearly 6000km back to England, arriving there on 14 March 1790, where he was initially court-martialed and ultimately acquitted. The mutineers took HMS Bounty back to Tahiti, and collected 6 Polynesian men and 12 women. They then continued on to Pitcairn Island, arriving there on 15 January 1790. After burning the ship they established a settlement and colony on Pitcairn Island that still exists.
In 1808, Captain Mayhew Folger of the American sealing ship 'Topaz' landed at Pitcairn Islands. By that stage, many of the mutineers had succumbed to disease, suicide or been victims of murder. Of all the men, both whites and Polynesians, only John Adams survived. Adams, by then a changed man after his conversion to Christianity, went on to become the respected leader on Pitcairn. He died on 5 March 1829, forty years after the mutiny.
Friday, April 27, 2012
On This Day April 27, 1971
Relics from the wreck of The Batavia are recovered in Houtman Abrolhos, off the coast of Western Australia.
The 'Batavia' was a ship built in Amsterdam in 1628. On 29 October 1628, the newly built Batavia, commissioned by the Dutch East India Company, sailed from Texel for the Dutch East Indies to obtain spices. During the voyage two of the crew, Jacobsz and Cornelisz, planned to hijack the ship, with the aim of starting a new life somewhere using the supply of trade gold and silver on board. After stopping at South Africa for supplies, Jacobsz deliberately steered the ship off course away from the rest of the fleet, planning to organise a mutiny against the captain at some stage.
On 4 June 1629 the ship struck a reef near Beacon Island, part of the Houtman Abrolhos island group off the Western Australian coast. 40 drowned but most of the crew and passengers were taken to nearby islands in the ship's longboat and yawl. The captain organised a group of senior officers, crew members and some passengers to search for drinking water on the mainland. Unsuccessful, they then headed north to the city of Batavia, now Jakarta. Their amazing journey took 33 days and all survived.
After they arrived in Batavia, a rescue attempt was made for the other survivors, but it was discovered that a mutiny had taken place. Cornelisz had planned to hijack any rescue ships, and organised the murder of 125 men, women and children. The rescue party overcame the mutineers, executing the major leaders, including Cornelisz. Two minor offenders were abandoned on Australia's mainland, and others were taken to be tried in Batavia. The mutiny and murders brought infamy to the story of the lost Batavia.
On 27 April 1971, relics and artifacts from the Batavia wreck were salvaged, later followed by the stern of the ship. In 1972 The Netherlands transferred all rights to Dutch shipwrecks on the Australian coasts to Australia. Some of the items, including human remains, which were excavated, are now on display in the Western Australian Maritime Museum in Fremantle, Australia. Others are held by the Geraldton Region Museum. Included in the relics is a stone arch which was intended to serve as a welcome arch for the city of Batavia.
The 'Batavia' was a ship built in Amsterdam in 1628. On 29 October 1628, the newly built Batavia, commissioned by the Dutch East India Company, sailed from Texel for the Dutch East Indies to obtain spices. During the voyage two of the crew, Jacobsz and Cornelisz, planned to hijack the ship, with the aim of starting a new life somewhere using the supply of trade gold and silver on board. After stopping at South Africa for supplies, Jacobsz deliberately steered the ship off course away from the rest of the fleet, planning to organise a mutiny against the captain at some stage.
On 4 June 1629 the ship struck a reef near Beacon Island, part of the Houtman Abrolhos island group off the Western Australian coast. 40 drowned but most of the crew and passengers were taken to nearby islands in the ship's longboat and yawl. The captain organised a group of senior officers, crew members and some passengers to search for drinking water on the mainland. Unsuccessful, they then headed north to the city of Batavia, now Jakarta. Their amazing journey took 33 days and all survived.
After they arrived in Batavia, a rescue attempt was made for the other survivors, but it was discovered that a mutiny had taken place. Cornelisz had planned to hijack any rescue ships, and organised the murder of 125 men, women and children. The rescue party overcame the mutineers, executing the major leaders, including Cornelisz. Two minor offenders were abandoned on Australia's mainland, and others were taken to be tried in Batavia. The mutiny and murders brought infamy to the story of the lost Batavia.
On 27 April 1971, relics and artifacts from the Batavia wreck were salvaged, later followed by the stern of the ship. In 1972 The Netherlands transferred all rights to Dutch shipwrecks on the Australian coasts to Australia. Some of the items, including human remains, which were excavated, are now on display in the Western Australian Maritime Museum in Fremantle, Australia. Others are held by the Geraldton Region Museum. Included in the relics is a stone arch which was intended to serve as a welcome arch for the city of Batavia.
On This Day April 27, 1521
Sailor and explorer Magellan is killed by natives in the Philippines.
Ferdinand Magellan was born in Sabrosa, near Vila Real in the province of Trás-os-Montes, Portugal, in the year 1480. He became the first person to lead an expedition sailing westward from Europe to Asia and to cross the Pacific Ocean.
In 1519, with the intention of reaching the Spice Islands by sailing west around South America, Magellan reached the Pacific Ocean, sailing across it. He did not complete his final voyage as he was killed during the Battle of Mactan in the Philippines, on 27 April 1521. Magellan did not complete the entire circumnavigation, but as the leader of the expedition, he is credited with being the man who led the first successful attempt to circumnavigate the Earth. He died further west than the Spice Islands, which he had visited on earlier voyages, making him one of the first individuals to cross all the longitudes of the globe.
The Strait of Magellan is a navigable, but extremely hazardous, route immediately south of mainland South America, and an important natural passage between the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans. Magellan was the first European to navigate the strait in 1520, during his global circumnavigation voyage.
Ferdinand Magellan was born in Sabrosa, near Vila Real in the province of Trás-os-Montes, Portugal, in the year 1480. He became the first person to lead an expedition sailing westward from Europe to Asia and to cross the Pacific Ocean.
In 1519, with the intention of reaching the Spice Islands by sailing west around South America, Magellan reached the Pacific Ocean, sailing across it. He did not complete his final voyage as he was killed during the Battle of Mactan in the Philippines, on 27 April 1521. Magellan did not complete the entire circumnavigation, but as the leader of the expedition, he is credited with being the man who led the first successful attempt to circumnavigate the Earth. He died further west than the Spice Islands, which he had visited on earlier voyages, making him one of the first individuals to cross all the longitudes of the globe.
The Strait of Magellan is a navigable, but extremely hazardous, route immediately south of mainland South America, and an important natural passage between the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans. Magellan was the first European to navigate the strait in 1520, during his global circumnavigation voyage.
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