A CHART OF NEW ZEALAND, 1816

By Captain James Cook RN

This reproduction is taken from an original document, held within the Archives of the UK Hydrographic Office, Taunton, Somerset.

Charting, towards the end of the eighteenth century began to show an accurate picture of the world. James Cook's first great Pacific voyage began in 1768 when he was appointed to command HMS Endeavour. The main objective of the voyage was to observe the transit of Venus with the sun in 1769. For this reason the ship was equipped with the finest scientific instruments of the time.

After achieving this objective, Cook set sail to search for the great southern continent that had been reported by Van Diemen, Tasman and others. In October 1769 he saw land which he took to be New Holland (Australia), but which was in fact New Zealand. Between October 1769 and March 1770, he charted the 2400 miles of the coastline, a remarkable feat that has probably never been surpassed. In the course of this voyage Cook finally disproved the existence of a great southern continent, and placed New Zealand firmly on the map.

This chart is the 1816 Hydrographic Office edition, which was based upon Cook's original survey. The only significant errors are the depiction of Banks' Island as an island and the portrayal of the South Cape, which is in fact on an island. The track that the Endeavour took is also shown.