General News
27 January, 2026
In Defence of Captain James Cook
With Australia Day approaching statues of James Cook will again become targets for vandalism by those who hold a negative view of him. Cook appears to have become the scapegoat for the ills of colonialism, yet Cook’s interactions with Australia’s First Nations people reflect his compassion for their position. In his journals Cook wrote positively about the lifestyle of the indigenous people and despite being refused permission to come ashore at Botany Bay, deliberately chose not to use force in an effort to avoid bloodshed.
During the voyage of the Endeavour the crew had interaction with the Polynesians in Tahiti, New Zealand’s Maoris and Australia’s indigenous people and these experiences were vastly different.
Interaction with the Tahitians were generally excellent while interaction with the aggressive and warlike Maoris was at times disastrous.
At Botany Bay the English and the aboriginals tolerated each other after initial disagreement over the right to come ashore.
Maori bloodshed
On leaving Tahiti the Endeavour had two new young Polynesian passengers: Tupaia and his servant Taiata. Cook had been reluctant to take them on board but Banks encouraged him, believing they could be useful. The two Polynesians were eager to see the world in this glamorous ship and their usefulness would soon become apparent when they landed in New Zealand. Once Cook decided the search for the mystery southern continent was futile he decided to head for the coastline discovered by Abel Tasman in 1642.
The coast of New Zealand was sighted by twelve year old Nick Young on 6th October 1769. His cry of “Land!” had the whole ship’s company excited as they flocked up on deck to view the site. The next day Endeavour approached the coastline with mountain ranges in the background and thick wooded hills approaching the shoreline. As they entered a large bay a canoe of a size Cook had not seen before came close with over thirty warriors paddling the vessel and the attitude of the Maori warriors was aggressive and certainly not welcoming. The inevitable first meeting the next day with the Maori did not go well. As the Endeavour’s auxiliary boats, a pinnace and a yawl headed towards a beach the Maori seized the yawl. Men in the pinnace came to help those under attack and muskets were fired over the native’s heads but a spear was thrown and the spear thrower was shot dead.
On the second day Cook went ashore with the six armed marines and the Polynesian Tupaia and to the amazement of everyone when Tupaia spoke to the Maori they understood what he said and they began to mingle with the Englishmen. Unfortunately an aggressive confrontation erupted and three Maori were killed.
When Cook and his men returned to the Endeavour they felt guilt and shame and Banks, who had fired a shot, wrote it was “the blackest day of his life.”
For the next four days Cook mapped the coastline until another encounter with the Maori ended again in disaster. After meeting a large group of Maori where the bartering of goods took place the atmosphere changed when Taiata the young boy travelling with Tupaia was kidnapped by Maori warriors.
In their attempt to rescue the frightened boy shots were fired and several Maori were shot but Taiata was eventually saved. Cook named the white cliffs in the background Cape Kidnappers near the present harbour and town of Napier.
One custom of the Maori that became known to Cook and his men was the Maori act of cannibalism. While Cook, Banks and Solander viewed this practice with some alarm it was Tupaia who was most disgusted by it even though his own people had abandoned the practice only a few generations ago. The crew members of the Endeavour were terrified by the thought they could be eaten if captured while ashore. Over the next few months Cook mapped the entire coastline of New Zealand and found the land was not one but two islands separated by what is now known as Cook’s Strait.
As the Endeavour now headed into the Tasman Sea the crew reflected on the interaction with the war-like Maori and many felt nervous about any further contact with indigenous people.
The Wild Tasman Sea
The Tasman Sea is a lonely and at times a very dangerous stretch of water.
Australians receive a reminder of the Tasman’s fury each year when the Sydney to Hobart yacht race begins each Boxing Day. In the 1998 event horrific sea conditions claimed the lives of six sailors and the loss of seven yachts.
As they entered the Tasman Sea the Endeavour experienced a gale force winds and the sea worthiness of the ship and the seamanship of her captain were again tested. Cook was heading for the stretch of the New Holland coastline he knew Abel Tasman had found in 1642. In Cook’s mind Tasman had already “discovered” the eastern coastline of the continent.
Another gale lasting for three days struck but on 19th April 1770 in the soft early morning light and haze, Lieutenant Zachary Hicks, saw a cape estimated to be eighteen miles away.
Hicks was 29 years old when the Endeavour left England and suffering from tuberculosis and would die on 29th May 1771 just before the voyage reached home. The land he saw that morning is now named Cape Hicks. The sighting of land was the turning point in Cook’s life as he was now perfectly placed to explore this uncharted stretch of coastline Cook turned the Endeavour northwards following the coast and the crew saw smoke from small fires rising inland, a sign the land was inhabited. Their experiences with the aggressive and warlike Maori in New Zealand worried them and the major concern was their fear of the cannibalism they saw among the Maori.
Would the natives of New Holland be openly friendly like the Tahitians or aggressive like the Maori?
On Sunday 29th April 1770 they found a suitable bay for anchoring and the Endeavour slowly entered. Cook would ultimately name it Botany Bay and it would be the site of the Englishmen’s first interaction with the indigenous people of the continent.
Impasse at Botany Bay
The meeting of the crew of the Endeavour and the aboriginals of the Gweagal tribe of Botany Bay has been the source of much debate over many years.
This article has used the accounts of notable historians such as Geoffrey Blainey and the journals of Cook and Banks and importantly, the views of Gweagal man Dr Shayne Williams and Ray Ingrey (Research Manager of the Gujaga Foundation), as used by Peter Fitzsimmons in his book James Cook.
Shayne Williams believes that his ancestors saw the Endeavour as a cloud carrying their dead ancestors.
Surely this viewpoint made it even more difficult for the aboriginals to initiate friendly communication as they were fearful of their dead ancestors.
The crew of the Endeavour was confused by the reaction of the Gweagal people to their arrival in Botany Bay as surprisingly they totally ignored their presence.
This reaction was in stark contrast to the aggressive reaction of the Maori or the friendly welcome of the Tahitians. Cook did not attempt to land but kept his boats a few metres from the shoreline. In preparation to going ashore Cook ordered the pinnace, yawl and the long boat to be readied and forty men, both sailors and marines climbed into the boats. The size of this landing party suggests Cook was taking no chances that there might be a hostile reaction ashore.
His marines were armed with single shot muskets should they be attacked but in a concession to avoiding lethal force several muskets were loaded with “short shot”. Short shot are small lightweight pellets designed not to cause serious injury but to cause a sharp sting if hit. As Cook’s boats approached the shore a group of warriors carrying spears approached from the bush. Their attitude was not welcoming. The young marines in the boats must have tightened the grip on their muskets in fear of attack with thoughts of Maori cannibalism fresh in their mind. Two brave Gweagal warriors carrying spears moved forward from the others and approached Cook’s boat. Tupia attempted to speak to them but unlike in New Zealand it was soon obvious they did not understand. The inability of the two opposing groups to communicate only added to the tension. The two warriors made their objections to Cook’s men obvious with their aggressive body language. Cook showed them the empty water barrels they carried as an indication of what they wanted ashore but the warriors gave no concession. At this point Cook decided to offer some gifts and threw ashore some beads and iron nails, gifts the Tahitians highly prized but the Gweagal warriors showed little interest.
Opinions in the boats as to what to do differed greatly.
Banks agreed with Cook’s hesitancy, mindful of the bloodshed with the Maori but Lieutenant Gore encouraged Cook to take decisive action. Cook stood in the boat for 15 minutes deciding what he should do next while the two Gweagal warriors displayed great courage standing against forty armed men. (It is timely to recall that ultimately Cook died a violent death at the hands of indigenous Hawaiians.)
In Botany Bay Cook had several issues running through his mind. His first responsibility as Captain was the care and safety of the Endeavour’s crew of approximately ninety. He needed water, fresh food and fruits for his men to avoid scurvy. The marines stood ready to fire but Cook chose not to use lethal force to end the impasse. Cook’s decision to avoid bloodshed shows he wanted his meeting with the indigenous people of New Holland to be a peaceful one but he needed to get shore.
Gweagal man Dr Shayne Williams explained how anyone coming onto Gweagal land needed to gain consent before they could enter. Cook stood in his boat seeking that consent but it was not given. Eventually Cook decided he had to act and he took hold of a musket loaded with short shot. He fired over the head of the two warriors with neither being hit but the noise frightened the younger warrior enough to drop his spears. The elder warrior then picked up a rock and threw it towards Cook, just missing his head. Cook took up another musket, but one again loaded with short shot, and this time fired at the legs of the older warrior.
The warriors temporarily retreated into the bush but obviously unharmed they returned carrying even bigger spears. Several spears were then thrown with one spear landing dangerously between the legs of artist Sydney Parkinson. Cook fired another musket and eventually the two warriors retreated after having bravely attempted to defend their land.
This event is a pivotal one in Australian history and there are always two sides to any historical story. The question nobody seems to ask is: if the Gweagal had not believed the sailors were ghosts of their ancestors would they have given consent to land.
We will never know. The 60,000 years of isolation the indigenous people had enjoyed was now ended and the negative aspects of this isolation were clearly evident. European society in the 18th century was entering a golden age of scientific and technological advancement and the Industrial Revolution was in its infancy. The indigenous people of the Australian continent now found their isolation left them with a major disadvantage having only stone age weapons.
As the Gweagal warriors retreated into the bush the crew of the Endeavour nervously came ashore. Banks and Solander over the next few days discovered all the new and exotic plants the continent had hidden from the world for thousands of years. The Endeavour’s stay in Botany Bay is the high point of the professional life of both men as the scientific world was astounded by their botanical discoveries. During their eight day stay the Gweagal avoided close contact with the Englishmen.
Both sides deserve credit for the peaceful but reserved relationship that took place during the Endeavour’s stay. Whether the Gweagal still believed these intruders to be ghosts of their dead ancestors remains a mystery but they were pleased to see them eventually leave.
The recording of history is not an exact science. The journals of Cook and Banks obviously record the Botany Bay meeting from their viewpoint. The important fact that deserves consideration is that there was no loss of life. The Gweagal refusal to grant Cook consent to come ashore is also understandable given their belief Cook and his men were ghosts of their ancestors. Given this interpretation of events surely Cook deserves credit for a peaceful encounter. Many of the European settlers who came later did not follow Cook’s compassion for the indigenous people of the continent but Cook should not be held responsible for their actions.
The final part of our historical journey next week looks at the most dangerous moment of the voyage when Cook and his crew avoid a tragic ending after the Endeavour hits a reef off Cooktown during the night.
