James Cook and the transit of Venus
A statue to honour Cook
George III supported Cook??s voyage on Endeavour to make observations of the 1769 Transit of Venus from Tahiti.
Endeavour was a former Whitby collier refitted for the expedition at Deptford. In addition to the regular crew it had on board astronomer Charles Green and Joseph Banks, a keen naturalist and his party of eight.
All the efforts of the voyage could easily have been wasted as the Tahitians had no sense of ownership and took the astronomical quadrant needed for the observation. It was recovered after a chase across the island but not before it had been taken to pieces! Fortunately Bank??s secretary Herman Sporing had clockmaking skills and tools and was able to repair it.
In fact the data collected was not accurate enough to be of much use but this was eclipsed by the other successes of the voyage.
Sadly neither Green nor Sporing completed the trip as both were among those that died of dysentery in Batavia during an enforced stop for ship repairs in 1771. Joseph Banks however returned with material that ensured his future, becoming the longest serving president of the Royal Society.
Submitted by: Janet Digby, 21 January 2007
