Lesson sequence 4
The HMB Endeavour
Learning intention – We are learning about a significant historical event.
Success criteria – We can describe the HMB Endeavour, outline the purpose of its first voyage and infer life on board in 1770.
HMB Endeavour
See-think-wonder
View the photograph of the replica HMB Endeavour.
What do you observe?
What do you notice about the ship?
What do you think?
Who was on board the Endeavour?
What were conditions like?
Where did they sleep?
What did they eat?
Where did they go to the toilet?
What do you wonder about?
When do you think this photo was taken?
What would you like to find out?
About the HMB Endeavour
The ship
The HMB Endeavour was originally used to transport coal in England.
It was modified for the scientific journey before leaving England in 1768. The journey would take almost three years to complete.
What do you observe?
What was the ship built from?
The ship had no engines. How did it move?
How does it compare to modern ships today?
What do you think?
On the deck there were six cannons? Why?
Activity 1 – replicate
Nature art
Create your own Endeavour using natural objects, for example, leaves, sticks and bark.
What can you use to represent the waves?
Can you find some sticks to create a border?
Sketch
Draw a sketch of the Endeavour including the masts, anchors and the canons.
Lieutenant James Cook
James Cook
Lieutenant James Cook – explorer, navigator, cartographer, leader. Cook captained the HMB Endeavour on its journey that landed in Australia.
He and his crew made many discoveries about places and their features, Indigenous peoples, plants and animals that they could share with the world.
Life on board
The spaces
The HMB Endeavour was originally a coal ship. It was fitted out for the purpose of the journey. The ship had to accommodate 94 men as well as supplies of food, water, wood and scientific equipment. with provisions 18 months. On board were pigs, poultry, two greyhounds and a milking goat .
Conditions on board were cramped, damp, hot and uncomfortable for many of the sailors
To do
View the video The HMB Endeavour.
Scroll through the image gallery.
Can you imagine living on board the Endeavour for 1050 days?
The crew
On board the ship were the captain, lieutenants, marines, midshipmen, able bodied seamen, a carpenter, sail maker, naturalists, artists, an astronomer, a surgeon and a cook.
To do
View the videos and image gallery to answer the questions.
Who was on board the Endeavour?
How many people were on board?
What were conditions like on the ship?
Where did they sleep?
What did they eat?
Where did they go to the toilet?
Activity 2 – on board
Imagine you've stepped onto the deck of the Endeavour for the first time.
Use the Life on board activity sheet to write or record a letter home that describes the ship and its facilities. Remember to include what you would feel, smell, hear, taste and see on the ship.
How did Cook navigate the ship?
Navigation instruments
Cook did not have fancy instruments, satellites or GPS.
Using some basic instruments he was able to navigate by the sun and the stars.
To do
View the video Navigation instruments.
Scroll through the image gallery to learn about some of the instruments used by James Cook.
What was the purpose of the Endeavour's voyage?
Science and mapping
The aims of the HMB Endeavour's voyage was to:
record the transit of Venus at Tahiti
record the natural history of places
search for the Great South Land.
At Kamay in 1770, the officers and crew of the Endeavour described observations of the landscape and the Aboriginal people living there, took artifacts and collected and recorded a vast quantity of plant specimens.
With no cameras at that time, Sydney Parkinson, an artist on the Endeavour, sketched and painted many artworks to represent what they saw. He was working with botanists Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander.
Cook drew the shape of the east coast of New Holland with great accuracy.
Activity 3 – mapping
Draw
Record Cook's journey around New Zealand and along the east coast of Australia.
Use the Mapping activity sheet.
Explain
Explain why the Great Barrier Reef was important to Cook's journey.
Research
Research Possession Island, Australia and explain why it is a significant site in Australia's history.
Why did Cook come into Kamay Botany Bay?
Supplies
Cook had been sailing from New Zealand for four weeks. He was running out of fresh supplies for the crew and livestock.
When he saw Kamay Botany Bay, he sailed in and lowered the anchors.
To do
View the artist's impression of the Endeavour at Kamay Botany Bay.
What are the men collecting?
What else do you think they needed to collect at that time?
What did the voyage accomplish for science and navigation?
Back in England
When the HMB Endeavour arrived back in England they had much to show and tell.
The maps and charts created by Cook informed the navy for years to come.
The botanical specimens were recorded and the originals are still in England.
Why do you think the scientists collected samples of plants to take back to England?
Why didn’t they just draw pictures?
How did they preserve the samples so they would last?
View some of the plants recorded in 1770 at Botany Bay at the British Natural History Museum.
What did the Endeavours arrival on the east coast eventually lead to?
How did this change history in Australia?
Change
The arrival of James Cook in Kamay Botany Bay in 1770 did not immediately change life for the Aboriginal people as the Endeavour only stayed for eight days.
To do
Do you know what happened in 1788 that did change the history in this country?
View the video First Fleet.
Activity 4 – compare two events
1770 vs 1788
Think about the different events that occurred in Botany Bay in 1770 and 1788.
Who arrived in Australia at those times?
Why did they come to Botany Bay?
How long did they stay?
Complete the comparison table sheet for the events in 1770 and 1788.
Other interesting links
