The first Victoria Regional meeting this year was held on Thursday 25 March 2010 at Alvie Hall, Mt Waverley.
The guest speaker was David Hume with the story of the recovery of the Endeavour anchor from Endeavour Reef.
The next Victoria Regional meeting will be held on 23 September 2010.

To register for any meeting and for further information, please email the AustralianBranch@CaptainCookSociety.com

A General Meeting of the Australian Branch of the CCS was held on Friday 24 July 2009.

To register for any meeting and for further information, please email the AustralianBranch@CaptainCookSociety.com

CCS 2007 meeting in Germany

The first meeting of German CCS members was held on Saturday 24 March 2007 at a hotel in Düsseldorf.
A report was published in the July 2007 issue of Cook's Log.

Members discussing their common interest

Members listening to one of the presentations

For more information, please email (zu mehr information bitte email) Germany@CaptainCookSociety.com

Captain Cook Birthplace Museum	Secretary, Treasurer and President
Part of the audience	Part of the audience

The Lectures

1. A Manly Story: Isaac on the Endeavour and elsewhere   Ann Batchelor and Anthony Hill
2. Henry Bolckow. A 19th century fan of Cook   Ian Stubbs
3. Cook's Lincolnshire Legacy   Mike Surr
4. Cook and Bligh - heroes and anti-heroes in an age of exploration   Sophie Forgan
5. James King, not a seaman's seaman   Steve Ragnall

The Lectures

1. New Endeavour - re-encountering Cook's first Pacific voyage   Bob Bloomfield
2. The Coal Run   Chris Neumann
3. A Tale of two statues   Cliff Thornton
4. Omai - a trip to the north   Ian Stubbs
5. Cook's Second and Third Voyages   Doug Worton

Bob Bloomfield's presentation on sites and peoples	Chris Neumann's presentation on the Coal Run
Doug Worton on Cook's voyages	Ian Stubbs on Omai's trip to the north
Alwyn Peel and Cliff Thornton with last minute preparations before	an expectant audience at the start of the meeting

Members and guests at Kurnell

A meeting of the Australian branch of the Captain Cook Society was held on Wednesday 17th August at the Discovery Centre at Kurnell. Eight members attended: Daphne Salt (545) the organizer and host, Ted Tierney (335) the President of CCS-A, who had flown up from Melbourne for the meeting, John Faulkner (904), Malcolm Nicholson (1148), Tony Smyth (1147), Keith Paterson (383), Colin Rudd (807), and John Atkins (546). Eight guests came to the meeting including Malcolm Kerr the local MP and Klaas (Nick) Boes who has since become a member. It was an informal meeting with everyone outlining their interests in Cook, which was quite diverse, ranging from history, Cook sites, stamps, memorabilia and the protection of Kurnell. A variety of interests you could expect from any group of CCS members. We also discovered three of the members present had sailed on the Endeavour Replica. Following the introductions and the President's address a general discussion took place on Cook sources, such as the Mitchell Library with its wealth of Cook material, the Maritime Museum with their online collection and how they are working with the Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Research (RIMAR) on the search for the Endeavour at the entrance to Newport Harbour, and the Museum of Sydney's Cook Sites exhibition. At the luncheon break the members enjoyed the refreshments kindly provided by the local MP Malcolm Kerr and two videos were shown: one of Kurnell and the other on Cook country, England. On discussing future meetings and content, over three quarters voted for meetings to be held twice a year. The same number electing midweek luncheon meetings as their preferred option. The members unanimously voted for guest speakers, with Dr Edward Duyker the author of the book Nature's Argonaut - Daniel Solander, being a suggestion for a future meeting. After the meeting a number of the members took part in an enjoyable guided tour of the monuments at Cook's Landing Place.

Members and guests at Melbourne

A meeting of the Australian branch of the Captain Cook Society was held on Thursday 25th August in Fitzroy Gardens near Cooks' Cottage, Melbourne. There were twelve members present: Ted Tierney President (335), Ken Sheahan (290), Peter Morgan (965), Riemer Brouwer (304), Len Harrow (903), Jenny Elliston (744), Larry Osborne (1000), David Johns (11), Marion French (668), Milan Filipovic (252), Richard Dixon (418), Geoff Weeks (405). We also had three guests: Evelyn Tierney, Viv. Elliston and Andrew Baker, who at the end of the meeting completed a membership application form. During the President Ted's welcome and opening comments he thanked Past President Ken Sheahan for his contribution and congratulated both Ken and Riemer on receiving life membership of the CCS. Each member then received a questionnaire designed to encourage their views and suggestions on future meetings. Once the questionnaires are returned the committee will evaluate the results at their next meeting in early November. There was some discussion during Ted's opening comments. One remark from Ted and another member caught everybody's attention. Both know a descendant of John Harrison, of chronometer fame. As this, perhaps, represents an opportunity for a guest speaker, Ted intends following this up. After Ted's segment everyone introduced themselves and gave an outline on their Cook interests, again wide ranging, including philately, books, navigation and cartography to name a few, with one surprise - one of the members is a descendant of William Wales and Charles Green and, perhaps not surprisingly, has an interest in the astronomers that sailed with Cook. Ted ended the morning session by circulating from his philatelic collection, Australia 99 Navigator mini sheets with a perforation error. He also thanked Peter Morgan and Cook's Cottage for the use of the room and for supplying the refreshments. During lunch the guest speaker Claire Jager, a producer from Arcimedia explained an adventure story she is working on, a story loosely based on Cook's first voyage that is aimed at 8 to 12 year olds with the production being released early next year. After lunch each of the committee reported on some developments being undertaken. The Secretary mentioned that at the next committee meeting there will be a discussion about putting a CCS-A web page on the CCS website, and a new membership application form is currently being developed. The Treasurer reported on looking at additional payment options for subscriptions. The Endeavour Lines Editor announced that Brian Sandford has agreed to produce a CD-ROM for past issues of Endeavour Lines. As the costs are yet to be confirmed, a decision on whether to proceed will be made once the costs are known. Here are some other outcomes from the meeting. In due course the Endeavour Replica will be available for charter and Peter Morgan is considering approaching Melbourne City Council and perhaps the State Government with the suggestion that the Endeavour be brought to Melbourne at the time of the Commonwealth Games. No doubt, cost will be the governing factor. A new member suggested that a history of the CCS and CCS-A be produced for the benefit of new members. A request was also made about circulating membership lists but this has since been declined for privacy reasons.

	All photos by Daphne Salt
Ken and certificate	Ken Sheahan and Riemer Brouwer	Riemer and book

The Lectures

1. The Life of William Bayly   Don Anderson
2. A Mysterious Boom   Cliff Thornton
3. Phipps of Mulgrave   Ian Stubbs
4. Tea for the cabin, milk for the boys and butter for the ship   Rosalin Barker
5. Captain Cook: Explorations and Reassessments   Book Launch

Don Anderson	Cliff Thornton	Ian Stubbs	Rosalin Barker

The Museum	CCS Members	in the audience
Others in the audience	At the book launch	Purchasing copies of the book
CCS Member from the Arctic	At Friday evening's informal session	On Sunday at Whitby

CCS members: Steve Cooney      plus	Chris Neumann with Ken and Elizabeth Hermon behind

The Lectures

1. Cook in Great Ayton   Dan O'Sullivan
2. Cook in Stepney   Derek Morris
3. Recent research on "Cook's arrow"   Cliff Thornton
4. Ships of Cook's Time   Joe Wheatley
5. Cook's Wooden World   Phil Philo
6. Cook in Marton   Robin Daniels
7. Visit to archaeological dig near the museum

Dan O'Sullivan	Derek Morris	Joe Wheatley	Phil Philo

Cliff Thornton and a replica of the arrow	Robin Daniels and CCS members

After the "usual business", we were given an insight to the preparation for the publishing of books about Cook. The guest speakers were Victor Suthren and CCS members Tony Horwitz, John Robson and Vanessa Collingridge.

Victor Suthren	Tony Horwitz	John Robson	Vanessa Collingridge

Vanessa Collingridge and part of the audience	John Robson and part of the audience

An Outsider's View
I accompanied my husband to the joint meeting of the Pitcairn Island Study Group and CCS at the Union Jack Club in London on 31st March 2001. We arrived early enough to have coffee and catch up with other CCS members before the start of the meeting and a welcome from the PISG.
The first illustrated talk by Madge Darby covered Captain Bligh's trip on Providence to collect breadfruit. They set sail to Tahiti via Cape of Good Hope on 3rd August 1791. Bligh was in charge of stores and used Captain Cook's anti-scorbutic methods to keep his crew healthy. Tahiti provided plenty of fresh water, fruit, fish and pork to replenish stores and plenty of entertainment for the crew! Also, Tahiti provided fertile inspiration for the artist Tobyn. When they left Tahiti they had 15 extra crew and one stowaway, as well as 1700 breadfruit. 696 breadfruit survived to arrive at Kew. An incredible number of slides were shown of pages from journals of the journey. Also explained was another lesson Bligh learned from Cook; he was firm but fair with his crew and didn't have to resort to the dreaded flogging as often as other captains.
After an excellent lunch in the Union Jack Club Restaurant, we enjoyed a talk and colour slide presentation from Dr Rima Bartlett, who has a degree in anthropology, entitled Ways of Viewing Captain Cook and Other Sailors to Polynesia. Dr Bartlett advised us that, should we go to Hawaii, on landing at Honolulu airport we should leave that behind as soon as possible to explore further afield and discover the true Polynesian culture. It is still there if you make the effort to find it. Beautiful colour slides gave us a taste of the people and island. We saw pictures of a beautiful bay with a stone marking the site of Cook's death. In the next cove there is a monument to Cook erected by the Australians. Our President, Cliff Thornton, was able to add a personal perspective to the meeting as he had visited the site earlier this year. Dr Bartlett advises that, as Hawaii is the 50th state of the USA, Honolulu is very Americanised and so it is best to save a visit there until the end of your tour.
Next we saw collections presented by members. The first was of stamps and covers relating to Cook. Then came Bounty stamps and the contents of a box bought at auction containing a fascinating collection of objects. There was a tobacco tin containing a packet of pigtails from some of the mutineers on the Bounty and some natives. One belonged to William McCoy. We also saw a hankie which once belonged to Sally, the baby daughter of William McCoy. The third presentation featured a map from a journal of William Wales, the astronomer on Cook's second and third voyage, that has so far not been identified. Finally, we learnt about Captain Bligh's exploits. We were shown a 1967 150th anniversary set of three stamps showing Pacific Island, covers of Bligh's birth place and a picture of St Mary of Lambeth, which is a church near Lambeth Palace, at present redundant, where Bligh is buried.
During the afternoon tea break we could view the items for auction as well as chat with friends about all that we had seen and learnt. The meeting formally closed before the auction started so that members could leave when they were ready. A very lively auction followed with most items sold, some at quite high prices.
We said our goodbyes and left about 6pm. This was a very interesting day out for me and was obviously enjoyed by all the members of both groups. Perhaps this could become an annual event. I can see how people can get so "hooked" on Bligh and Cook as there is an amazing amount of information available to bring history to life.
Mary Neumann

Neil and Stanley and the plaque Click the picture to view it larger

Some CCS members in front of the house Click the picture to view it larger

The plaque to Henry Roberts Click the picture to see 10 more!

Some CCS members in front of the building Click the picture to view it larger

Ms. Floss Bayly with her niece in front of the plaque Click the picture to view it larger

A reception in the Wardroom after the presentations Click the picture to view it larger

Captain Cook's World: Maps of the life and voyages of James Cook, RN 208 pp. 128 colour maps. Published in August 2000 by: Random House NZ (ISBN 1869414098, NZ$59.95), Random House Australia (ISBN 1740514130, A$45.00) University of Washington Press (ISBN 0295980192, US$40.00) and in 2001 by Chatham Publications, UK (ISBN 1861761813, £25.00). Read a review of this book

Captain Cook: Obsession and betrayal in the New World 376 pp. Published in March, 2002 by: Ebury Press (ISBN 0091879132, £17.99). Read a review of this book

Blue Latitudes: boldly going where Captain Cook has gone before 408 pp. Published in US by Henry Holt and Co (ISBN 0805065415)	Into the Blue: boldly going where Captain Cook has gone before 408 pp. Published in Australia by Allen and Unwin (ISBN 1865088994)	Into the Blue: boldly going where Captain Cook has gone before 408 pp. Published in the UK by Bloomsbury (ISBN 0747560471)

Discoveries: The Voyages of Captain Cook Published in September, 2003 by Allen Lane (ISBN 0 713 99557 2). It is about the interaction between Cook and his crew (including the artists) and the indigenous people they encountered on the voyages Read a review of this book

Joseph Banks (1743-1820) and the Swedish botanist Daniel Solander (1736-82) travelled on Captain Cook's First Voyage round the world on the Endeavour. Omai (c.1753-1776/7), was a Polynesian brought back to England on the Adventure, the second ship on Cook's Second Voyage. He was put into Banks and Solander's care after his arrival in 1774 and was returned to the South Seas by Cook on his Third Voyage. William Parry (1742-1791) was a portrait and history painter. He trained and worked both in London and Italy, while retaining a professional practice in Wales. Parry was the son of John Parry (c. 1710 -1782), the 'Blind Harpist' who published the earliest collection of traditional Welsh airs. William Parry became a pupil of Reynolds in 1766 and remained a life-long associate. In 1770, with the support of Wales' most influential and wealthy patron, Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, Parry travelled to Italy. He returned in 1775, and shortly afterwards began work on this group portrait possibly as a result of rekindling his acquaintance with Reynolds who was then also painting Omai.

A letter written by Captain James Cook informing the Admiralty of his safe return from his epic first voyage to Australia has been discovered by Bonhams auctioneers while cataloguing the contents of a Norfolk house. The previously unrecorded letter, which is of considerable significance to Cook scholars, was written aboard his ship, the Bark Endeavour in sight of the Kent coast. It is believed to be the first communication from Cook to the Admiralty from English waters after his three-year voyage. With it is a second document, also written in painstaking copperplate handwriting, which is a bill to the Treasury for supplies purchased by Cook at the Cape of Good Hope (now Cape Town) for the sloops during his second voyage in 1776. It is estimated at £3,000-4,000. The documents were discovered by Bonhams specialist James Glennie while he was cataloguing the contents of Brancaster Hall, on the north Norfolk coast. It is not known how the documents came to be at Brancaster Hall but James Glennie said: "The Simms-Adams family, who own Brancaster Hall, had connections with Yorkshire and Whitby."

Compare the broadcast programme to the draft questions and answers:

Mary Gad tells us that having long been fascinated by the polar regions she found the name of an island called Pickersgill Island. This intrigued Mary as her own maiden name was Pickersgill. She says "I knew that Captain Cook found South Georgia and therefore presumed that he had named this small island. There was a Lieutenant Richard Pickersgill in his crew but I can find no more. I would dearly like to know if the island was named after him and more about his life.

Lieutenant Pickersgill - what can you tell us about him?
Richard Pickersgill did indeed go with Cook to South Georgia, and was one of that happy group of sailors who rose in rank and knowledge through the tutelage of James Cook. Like Cook he was a Yorkshireman, having been born in West Tansfield, not far from Ripon, in 1749. He was described by one of Cook's crew as "a good officer and astronomer, but liking ye Grog".

How did Cook come across him - was he careful about selecting his crew?
Cook did not select his crew for his first voyage round the world. The Admiralty did that for him. Pickersgill was one of six sailors who volunteered to go to the South Seas after returning from a world voyage only 3 months before Cook set out to the Pacific. Pickersgill was 19 years old when he joined the ship Endeavour, and had been promoted from Able Seaman to master's mate during the voyage on the ship Dolphin. And it was as master's mate that he joined Cook.

Was he with Cook on many of his voyages - - did he had special skills and did Cook value him?
He was on two of Cook's voyages around the world: the First Voyage on the Endeavour when they charted New Zealand and the east coast of Australia, and the Second Voyage on the Resolution, when they searched for the mythical Great Southern Land thought to exist at the bottom of the globe to balance the large land masses of Europe and Asia at the top. Cook had a high opinion of his skills as a surveyor, his handling of the native peoples they came across and his judgement. In fact, Cook often sent him exploring the coastal areas in one of the small boats, or used him as an ambassador when arriving at ports of European colonies, getting Pickersgill to visit the dignitaries. Cook promoted Pickersgill to Master during the First Voyage and lieutenant on the Second Voyage.

It will have been on the 1775 voyage that Cook went by South Georgia. What were the circumstances of his naming of Pickersgill island?
The island of South Georgia was discovered by Cook in January 1775 towards the end of the Second Voyage, when he was having a final push to find the Great Southern Land. The ship had sailed east from the tip of South America, rather than the usual course of following the coast, or heading towards the Falkland Islands. As they sailed along the northern coast of the island Cook named the places he saw after his patrons and eminent people back home, and also after some of his crew, such as Coopers Island (after the First Lieutenant), Clerke's Rocks (after the Second Lieutenant) and Pickersgill Island (after the Third Lieutenant).

Pickersgill island is a pretty bleak place I should imagine.
Pickersgill Island is to the south of South Georgia and was seen only in the distance. Cook was amazed that an island so far south should, as he exclaimed in his journal "in the very height of Summer be in a manner wholly covered many fathoms deep with frozen snow, but more especially the SW Coast, the very sides and craggy summits of the lofty Mountain were cased with snow and ice".

Did Cook often name places after his officers? Are there other places bearing Pickergill's name?
There were two other places named by Cook after young Richard earlier in the same voyage.
Pickersgill Harbour is on the coast of New Zealand, on the opposite side of the South Island to Christchurch and the main inhabited areas. Cook moored there for six weeks to recoup after the long voyage from England. Pickersgill had found the harbour and recommended it to Cook for their anchorage.
The other place is Pickersgill Cove on the southern tip of South America. Again discovered by Pickersgill as he explored the area. Cook remarked in his journal "Early in the morning sent Lieutenant Pickersgill, who I frequently employed on these occasions, to Examine and draw a sketch of the Channel".

Do we know what happened to Richard Pickersgill afterwards?
He didn't accompany Cook on his Third Voyage round the world, but was promoted to be the captain of a ship that would, hopefully, meet Captain Cook as Cook appeared round the top of Canada. Pickersgill was sent to Baffin Bay on the east coast of Canada, whilst Cook was sent to the west coast to find a sea passage back to Britain. Nobody had found the passage from the Atlantic so it was hoped they would find it from the Pacific. Unfortunately, Pickersgill's ship, the Lyon, was sent late in the season and Pickersgill leadership was wanting. He returned in disgrace and was court-martialled, tough some of the blame lay with the Admiralty. It is not clear what happened to him after that, but Johann Forster, the German scientist on Cook's Second Voyage, later wrote that he had become a privateer. He died in 1779, the same year as Cook, from falling over while boarding a ship and drowning in The Thames. He was 30 years old.

Updated: April 2010