James Cook (1728-79) was a famous English seaman, regarded as one of the greatest navigators and explorers of all time, and his charts were so accurate that only in recent times have they been replaced by surveys made with modern equipment. Strong and fearless, he was respected by his officers and men.

By his insistence on an appropriate diet (including limes) and cleanliness in the men’s quarters of the Endeavour, he prevented scurvy, a common illness amongst ships’ crews at that time. In his vessel, Endeavour, he left England in 1768 for the South Pacific carrying Sir Joseph Banks, a fellow of the Royal Society, and other scientists, with orders to observe the transit of Venus, to seek for a southern continent, and annex any new lands in the name of the King of Great Britain.

After three months at Tahiti and the completion of successful planetary observations, Cook sailed west, discovered the Society Islands, then circumnavigated and charted the coast line of both islands of New Zealand.

He surveyed the east coast of Australia, landing at Botany Bay, and sailed through Torres Strait, establishing the fact that Australia and New Guinea were separate islands. He continued the voyage to Batavia and returned to England by the Cape of Good Hope.

In 1772 he set out on a further voyage, verifying the positions of some already known islands, and discovering others. He sailed down into the Antarctic and again returned via South Africa. His final voyage, begun in 1776, was an attempt to find the N.W. Passage from the Pacific. In its course he coasted along the W. shores of N. America, surveyed the Bering Strait, touched Kamchatka and the Aleutian Islands, and, returning, put in at Hawaii, where he was killed in a fight with the natives.

He wrote accounts of his voyages, which make fascinating records of adventure.