The Voyage

Now, Cook was about to find out what the second part of his mission was to be. 
The second set of instructions given to him by the British Admiralty before the Endeavour left England in 1768, the so-called ‘secret orders’, directed him to search for a Great South Land thought to exist above Antarctica in the southern Pacific Ocean. 

Laura's suggested recast/comments: 

Cook was about to find out the second part of his mission.

The second set of instructions – the so-called 'secret orders' – were given to Cook by the British Admiralty before he left England in 1768. The orders directed him to search for a Great South Land thought to exist above Antarctica in the southern Pacific Ocean.

Comment: Was it called 'the Great South Land' in the orders? If so, this should be in inverted commas. 

Also, the mission was originally commissioned by the Royal Society of London and it was a joint mission with the 'Lords of the Admiralty'. 

Little could Cook have known that his mission would now set in train a series of momentous events in Australian history, events that were to lead to his fame as a great navigator, but also the catalyst for the 1788 occupation of the lands of Australia’s First Peoples.

The Voyage is a collection of stories and objects about the Endeavour's momentous arrival on Australian shores – an event that was to change the course of Australian history. Some of these stories you may have heard before, others may come as a surprise. Some are from the scientists, sailors and military who travelled to a new and strange continent, others are from those who witnessed these strangers passing by their coast, and landing in their bays and rivers.

Laura's comments: I don't think it is necessary to include the word 'momentous' here. Also, I think it should be Cook's arrival, not the Endeavour's arrival as the ship is an inanimate object. 

Also it should be 'landed', not 'landing' as this happened in the past, not present. 

Command and senior officials

• Second in Command, Lieutenant Zachary Hicks – 29 years old, already had 15 years of seafaring under his belt
• Third in Command, John Gore – American, older but already circumnavigated the world twice on HMS Dolphin on similar research voyages – including having been to Tahiti. He was a good shot and shot game during the voyage to supplement the food stores. He caught the first stingray in Botany Bay, and killed the first kangaroo
• Ship Master, Robert Molyneaux – 22 years old
• Second Master's Mate, Charles Clerke – 25 years old who would sail with Cook on his second and third Pacific voyages

• Three midshipmen – John Bootie, Jonathan Munkhouse (younger brother to surgeon) and Patrick Saunders
• Twelve marines for landing on shore, under the command of Sergeant John Edgcumbe (Edgcumbe sailed with Cook on his second voyage too)
• Surgeon William Munkhouse – highly trained, know Banks from their previous exploration of Newfoundland (could have met Cook too at that time, c1765–67?), under instruction from Navy/Royal Society to administer essence of lemon and orange to treat (not ward off) scurvy; very involved with working out the diet of the sailors

Laura's comments: Is this a legitimate section or dot points of notes of research for it to be written into something proper? Either way it doesn't read well at all! This entire section would need to re-written. 

Joseph Banks

Young and wealthy, the scientific patron of the voyage

By 1767, Joseph Banks was already a respected botanist and member of the Royal Society. Upon hearing there were plans to undertake a voyage to the South Seas, he applied to take a group of eight natural scientists and artists on the voyage at his own expense.

He was also supplied a library of over 150 books, equipment to dissect and preserve scientific specimens, paper for

dying species, tin trunks for storage, microscopes and a new sea telescope, as well as beads and mirrors for trading. In 1768, he was promoted to lieutenant and given command of HMS Endeavour expedition to observe a Transit of Venus and prove or disprove the existence of a southern continent. On this first voyage of exploration (1769–71), Cook's list of achievements included surveying New Zealand and the eastern coast of Australia.

He was independently wealthy, having inherited estates in Lincolnshire, and had left his studies at Oxford to research botany and natural philosophy aboard the Niger on its voyage to Newfoundland in 1766.

Daniel Solander

Former curator of botany at the British Museum

Close friend and former teacher to Banks, Solander was a talented botanist himself. He left his job classifying the collections at the newly established British Museum to join the expedition. He worked to identify and classify the plants and wildlife they observed.

Laura's comments: Surely more information could be included about him?

Sydney Parkinson

A prolific artist

Joseph Banks recruited the Scottish Parkinson to make detailed sketches and paintings of the specimens he collected with his botanist, Daniel Solander. Parkinson's role was to accurately record the important details of each plant, which he could then develop into full illustrations back in England. Parkinson unfortunately died on the return voyage, aged just 26. Before his death he finished over 1,200 drawings and paintings of flora and fauna, which are now in the British Library collection.

Alexander Buchan

Landscape artist

Little is known about Alexander Buchan who was an artist employed onboard Cook's first voyage to the Pacific with HMB Endeavour. Buchan acted as a landscape artist and produced a series of coastal views of the Cape Verde Islands. He suffered from epilepsy and died after having an epileptic fit in Tahiti, 1769.

Charles Green

Astronomer

The lucky astronomer who was tasked to accurately observe the Transit of Venus in 1768 in Tahiti, the first task of the voyage. For most of the previous decade he was the Assistant to the Astronomer, Royal Greenwich Observatory in London. He and Nevil Maskeylne tested Harrison's H4 chronometer in 1763, a key development in measuring longitude at sea.

Laura's comments: Surely more information could be included about him?

It was during this time he learnt the lunar distance method to aid navigation, which he used and taught to others on the Endeavour voyage. The lucky astronomer who was tasked to accurately observe the Transit of Venus in 1768 in Tahiti, the first task of the voyage. For most of the previous decade he was the Assistant to the Astronomer, Royal Greenwich Observatory in London. He and Nevil Maskeylne tested Harrison's H4 chronometer in 1763, a key development in measuring longitude at sea.

He died from dysentery on the return stretch of the voyage, after they departed from Batavia.

Tupaia

Expert navigator, priest, artist, guide and translator

Tupaia was a Tahitian Polynesian arioi (priest) and skilled navigator. His strong celestial navigation, geographic knowledge and Polynesian interpretation skills were greatly welcomed by Cook. He joined the voyage after the Transit of Venus, during the second leg to discover the Terra Australis Incognita. Banks was excited to welcome Tupaia to the science and artists of the Great Cabin.

Tupaia was the key interpreter and translator for New Zealand leg of the voyage, helping relations with the Maori. In Australia he found his language and cultural customs did not translate as well as it had in New Zealand. He had hoped to sail to Britain but sadly died during the outbreak among the crew in Batavia in December 1770.

Laura's comments: This summary of Tupaia is very basic and I think there is way more that needs to be said about him and his role, especially on his navigation skills considering he is listed under the 'navigators' heading. Like the fact he was the first Polynesian to make a chart of the ocean on paper and was hailed by Maori as the captain/admiral of Endeavour - not Cook. 

Also the part where Kate says 'discover the Terra Australis Incognita' is extremely problematic for multiple reasons. Firstly, she hasn't unpacked the idea of 'Terra Australis Incognita' which needs to be done, and this entire platform is about debunking this idea of discovery so it shouldn't be used at all. Context is key!