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First Sighting of New Zealand Mainland
Nicholas Young, the surgeons boy was the first on board to sight the New Zealand mainland -
Cook landing
The Endeavour’s two small boats were lowered
to take Cook, Banks, and others ashore to find a
watering hole. They landed on the eastern bank of the
Turanganui River by, what is now, the Cook Landing
Site National Historic Reserve. -
First encounter with Maori
As they headed towards Kaiti Beach
a group of 50-100 Ngäi Tawhiri and Whanau-a-Iwi
men assembled on the opposite side of the river and challenged Cook’s party with a haka.Following this exchange there was an uneasy meeting
between warriors and sailors and eventually shots
were fired, fatally wounding a warrior.Mid afternoon, near Te Kuri a Paoa, Cook saw two
canoes coming in towards the river and decided to
try and capture them and gain their friendship by
treating them well. -
Gesture of peace
After a night on the Endeavour, the boys were taken
with Cook, Tupaia, Banks, Solander and others to the
eastern bank of the Turanganui River. About 100 to
150 armed men (probably Ngäti Kaipoho and Ngäi
Tahwiri hapü) gathered on the opposite side of the
river. Finally an old man swam the river and presented
Tupaia with a green bough as a gesture of peace.
Later, the three boys were set ashore at Kaiti. -
Poverty Bay
Weighing anchor at 6am the Endeavour sailed out of
Poverty Bay, so named by Cook “... as it afforded no
one thing we wanted.”These first encounters between Cook’s men and Mäori
people had been short, suspicious and violent and
not a great deal was learned about life on shore... On
the whole, the local people must have felt profoundly
relieved when... the Endeavour raised its anchor and
sailed south out of the bay. A Salmond, 1991 -
Period: to
Cook Navigates New Zealand
After six months Cook had circumnavigated and
charted the North and South islands and by March
1770 he was on his way back to England, discovering
and charting the east coast of Australia on the way.