Personal details
Full Name:
- James Cook
Lifetime:
- 27 Oct 1728–14 Feb 1779
James Cook
Captain James Cook, the first European to define the outline of New Zealand, has left a permanent imprint on the consciousness of New Zealanders.
Read more...Events In History
-
17 December 1773Ten crew of Cook's ship Adventure killed and eatenAt Wharehunga Bay, Queen Charlotte Sound, 10 men serving on the ship accompanying Cook's Resolution died at the hands of Ngāti Kuia and Rangitāne. Read more...
-
20 May 1773NZ's first sheep releasedDuring his second voyage to New Zealand, James Cook released a ewe and a ram from the Cape of Good Hope (South Africa) in Queen Charlotte Sound. They survived for only a few days, an inauspicious start to this country's long association with sheep. Read more...
-
16 February 1770James Cook sights Banks 'Island'Cook sighted Banks Peninsula from the Endeavour. The following day he decided it was an island, which he named for the expedition's botanist, Joseph Banks. Read more...
-
9 February 1770Cook completes circumnavigation of North IslandThe Endeavour's arrival at Cape Turnagain confirmed that the North Island was indeed an island, and not part of a fabled great southern continent. Read more...
-
12 December 1769De Surville first sights NZ near HokiangaAs James Cook rounded the northern tip of the North Island from east to west, the French explorer Jean François Marie de Surville was in the same waters, sailing in the opposite direction. A storm prevented any chance of an historic meeting. Read more...
-
15 November 1769British flag flies for first time in NZBy raising the British Colours on Coromandel Peninsula, Cook claimed the area in the name of King George III. Read more...
-
9 November 1769Captain Cook observes transit of MercuryCaptain Cook's astronomer Charles Green observed the transit of Mercury at Te Whanganui-o-Hei (Mercury Bay) on Coromandel Peninsula. Read more...
-
6 October 1769Young Nick sights landShip's boy Nicholas Young received a gallon of rum and had Young Nicks Head named in his honour for being the first aboard the Endeavour to spot land. Read more...
Articles
Early explorers
The romance and sheer challenge of getting to New Zealand have made the Polynesian discovery and European rediscovery of these islands popular topics of study.
- Page 3 - European explorersSpanish and the Portuguese had an active presence in the Pacific from the early 16th century, but there is no firm evidence of Europeans reaching New Zealand before Abel Tasman in
Related keywords
- explorers
- european discovery
- jean françois marie de surville
- exploration
- maps
- memorials
- gisborne
- historic places
- joseph banks
- banks peninsula
- young nicks head
- wahine disaster
- cook strait
- roadside stories
- wellington harbour
- ferries
- queen charlotte sound
- ngati kuia
- rangitane
- farming
- wool
- sheep
- maori
- painting
- sydney parkinson
- robert mcnab
- stamps
- pre-1840 contact
- william hodges
- abel tasman
- food
- christmas
- famous firsts
- jules dumont d'urville
-
Main image: James Cook
Photolithographic portrait of James Cook, 1784.
