Log of HMS Endeavour, 27 May 1768-18 July 1771
- Component identifier:
- File Add. MS.8959
- Content Summary:
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Although the log was formerly in the possession of Sir Joseph Banks, it was the official ship's log of HMS Endeavour, commanded by Lieutenant James Cook, and it should have passed to the Admiralty at the end of the voyage. During the course of the voyage, it appears to have been used by several members of the crew who were keeping logs and journals. The entries when the vessel was in harbour are quite brief, but while at sea the log provides an hourly record of the working of the ship and a daily record of the employment of the crew.
The first entry of the log is dated 27 May 1768 and the detailed entries begin on 10 August 1768 when the Endeavour was sailing from the Downs to Plymouth. The log records the departure from Plymouth (26 August 1768) and the voyage to Madeira, Rio de Janeiro (Nov. – Dec. 1768), Cape Horn, Tahiti (April – July 1769), New Zealand (Oct. 1769 – Feb. 1770), Botany Bay (April -May 1770), Endeavour River (June – July 1770), Batavia (Oct. – Dec. 1770), Cape Town, and the Downs. The last entry is dated 18 July 1771.
- Processing information:
- M1561
Online content
Access and use
- Parent Restrictions:
- Available for Access.
- Parent Terms of Access:
- Readers wishing to publish or reproduce documents should seek permission, in the first instance, from the British Library. For more information visit: How I use the images I order?-The British Library [https://www.bl.uk/help/how-can-i-use-the-images-i-order].
- Location of this collection:
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Parkes PlaceCanberra ACT 2600, Australia
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