Captain Cook will always be remembered for being the first man to land on the East-Coast of Oz and claiming this and many more new found lands including New Zealand, Hawaii, Tonga and Fiji for King and country.

He was born in Yorkshire on 27th Oct.1728 from humble stock, and through a passion for sailing and exploring worked his way through the ranks of the Royal Navy to command his own survey vessel, unusual for an enlisted man. His first mission in 1755 was to map the estuary of the St. Lawrence River prior to a naval assault on Quebec. After performing well at various scientific expeditions Cook was asked to command his first mission to track and time the passing of Venus across the sun, this was important to acquire the distance of Earth from the sun used for navigation.

It was aboard the Endeavour in 1769 with a young scientist named Joseph Banks that Cook first discovered and mapped New Zealand and the East Coast of Australia, then named "terra australis incognita" (no mans land). On this journey he and Banks came back with 1000's of new plants and animals never seen in Europe before and he was hailed a hero. Over the next 10 years Cook attempted 2 more perilous journeys and became the most travelled man on Earth and contributed endlessly to both science and the discovery and charter of the worlds lands and seas.

He was killed on the Hawaiian Islands in 1779 over a series of disputes with the locals. He was hacked to death by a mob of over 20,000 warriors and after some negotiation his next in command recovered his hands and skull. These were later placed in a coffin and with much ceremony buried at sea in Kealakua Bay in Hawaii.

As you are travelling through Oz and NZ you will see many towns, plants, rivers and mountains named after Cook and Banks, and even perhaps also in your own country as well.

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