Transcript

Two hundred and forty-six years ago, James Cook landed on the east coast of Australia for the first time. The ship that brought him here was the HMS Endeavour, a British Royal Navy research vessel.

But what was life like for the 94 people aboard that long journey to the other side of the world? Take a look.

[# Reporter] It was the year 1768, first Lieutenant James Cook and his men set sail aboard the HMS Endeavour.

[NARRATOR] At 2 p.m. we got under sail and put to sea, having on board 94 persons near 18 months' provisions and stores of all kinds. Their aim was to observe a rare event when the planet Venus moved across the sun, but they also had a secret mission to find the rumoured Great South Land and claim it for England.

It was an epic three year journey that shaped our country's history, but the ship that made it possible sank years later and its full wreckage has never been found. So in the 1980s, historians helped build this - a replica of the Endeavour in all its 18th century glory.

[Mike] The ship itself is sailed exactly the same way, is exactly the same. So we still play the same game if you like as Cook's men did so many years ago.

# Now the ship's docked at port so kids can hop aboard and explore what it would've been like to be on Cook's famous voyage. Above deck, the ship is just like it would've been more than 200 years ago, right down to the toilets.

[Guide] This was their toilet paper! Into the bucket of saltwater, wipe their bottoms and that was it.

# Down below, the ship is also decked out like the 1700s; from an old school oven, to canons, even the ship's cat! There was also another kind of cat that kept the crew in order, the dreaded cat-o-nine-tails!

[Guide] If someone was going to be punished for say, disobeying an order that an officer gave them, they'd probably get 12 lashes with this cat across their bareback. It'd probably be pretty annoying ‘cause you'd have to follow everybody's rules, like the Captain's rules cause you don't want to get whipped.

# Something else that would have been tough on the crew was the food. So this is where the crew would've eaten all their meals, breakfast, lunch and dinner. Things like porridge, maybe a thin boiled soup with some meat in it and even this - a biscuit called Hard Tack. Hmm, maybe not. The kitchen area doubled as another room too. And this is where the crew would've slept. Pretty comfy really, not bad.

I actually can't believe how many people could fit on this boat. And how humid it is and really hot it would’ve been. But for some crew members things weren't so bad.

And this would've been a luxury cabin. Top class. It's a little small, but not bad! It's the kind of room the gentlemen onboard like James Cook and botanist Joseph Banks would've had.

And this is where Captain Cook would've spent most of his time, sitting right here on the original Endeavour, most of the time charting his maps and eating his meals.

I thought everything was really cool, but I really liked going into Captain Cook's like cabin, I thought that was really cool. I think it was great, like how it shows, like what it was like, how many ropes there were, how much they had to do.

# So it seems James Cook and the Endeavour have inspired some of us to take the helm and sail the high seas on a voyage of discovery! Well, maybe one day.

End of transcript.