H.M. Bark Endeavour - Ray Parkin

[Bern]

By chance I picked up on a discount table H.M. Bark Endeavour: her place in Australian history : with an account of her construction, crew and equipment and a narrative of her voyage on the east coast of New Holland in the year 1770 by Ray Parkin.

The illustrations sold me on the spot. The original edition, which must be a handsome set, comes in 2 volumes with 15 large folding ship plans. These, at a reduced size, are included in the paperback along with many drawings and maps by Sydney Parkinson, botanical artist on the Endeavour, and the author himself. The text more than lives up to this promise.

If you're a fan of Patrick O'Brian the book is a must have.

Part II 'The Voyage' is a composite log of the Endeavour's journey up the east coast of Australia, from leaving New Zealand to rounding the Cape York peninsula and sailing through Endeavour Strait, so establishing New Holland as a separate land mass from New Guinea.

It features mainly Cook's and Banks' words, supplemented by extracts from the crew's journals, alongside interpretive remarks and nautical charts by Ray Parkin.

I've read several accounts of this voyage but nothing is as immediate as hearing it from the men themselves, especially when they're anchored in Botany Bay (first called Sting-ray Bay) and hauled up on the Endeavour River (now Cooktown). Their descriptions are fascinating and tragic because we know what happens next. The locals are in fact ever-present throughout the voyage, as there's hardly a day's sailing without a note in the log of many and large "smooks" (smokes) inland, signs of recent habitation on off-shore islands or people walking on the beach.

"...2 more and a young woman made their appearance on the Beach; she was to the utmost that we could see with our glasses as naked as the men" - Joseph Banks.

The kangaroo is another exotic presence. "Our second lieutenant who was a shooting today had the good fortune to kill the animal that had so long been the subject of our speculations." They found it excellent eating. They also remark favourably on green sea turtles and the large clams that give two pounds of meat each.

But it's the Great Barrier Reef and the Endeavour's passage through its hazardous shoals and coral outcrops that provides the greatest drama. And credit to Ray Parkin here because the first half of the book ('The World of the Ship') is what fleshes out the spare language of the log and gives the modern reader an appreciation of the skill and stamina shown by Cook and his crew in handling the vessel.

Parkin's detailed backgrounding covers everything from the composition of the ropes, yarns and cables (and how they were spun) to the contents of the barrels of food and drink on board. I learnt plenty about scurvy, calling fathoms and the logistics of outfitting a voyage into austral space, the equivalent of an expedition to the moon if not Mars.

The sailing ship was nearing the apex of its development at the time, while Cook was employing the very latest science to map what was blank on their charts, so anyone with an interest in technology can geek out. If that isn't enough, the nautical phrasing and vocabulary will please those who care to know the proper names for things.

Unsurprisingly, Parkin is a sailor.

I enjoyed this book immensely and look forward to reading it again.