Vol. 44, 2012 marked the anniversary of Captain Cook’s observation of the Transit of Venus on 3 June 1769, and its theme was “exploration and discovery”. Articles included:
James Cook as Map Maker. John Robson looks at Cook’s skills and qualifications as a surveyor and navigator who produced meticulous and accurate charts of the Pacific.
“To Know the World from Home You Need Not Stray”: Exotic Depictions of Oceanic Peoples in Popular Illustrated Books, c.1775-1810. Vivienne Morrell considers the popularity of travel books in an era of curiosity about newly discovered peoples in the Pacific.
King Tawhiao’s Big O.E. Roger Blackley investigates media coverage of the 1884 trip to London by the Maori King and finds that lengthy, vivid reports for a New Zealand audience made King Tawhiao a celebrity.
The Art of Exploration: Samuel Wallis and the First Drawings of the society Islands. Marian Minson discusses a log-book purchased by the Alexander Turnbull of 11 original drawings that are detailed coastal depictions produced by Wallis of islands he visited in his 1766-68 voyage.
NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS
Roger Blackley teaches art history at Victoria University of Wellington, and is researching Maori representations in colonial art and literature.
Marian Minson has been Curator, Drawings, Paintings and Prints at the Turnbull Library for over 30 years.
Vivienne Morrell researched images of Oceanic peoples depicted in books published in the late 18th century for her MA thesis in art history at Victoria University of Wellington.
John Robson is the author of Captain Cook’s World (2000) and is now map librarian at the University of Waikato.