H.M.B. Endeavour - The Shipwreck
"On the 11th June 1770, just before midnight on a calm moonlit night, the ship Endeavour commanded by James Cook struck the Great Barrier Reef."
Capt Cook's Chart
11th June 1770
COOK – “Cape Tribulation…. because here begun all our troubles.”
BANKS – “At nightfall rocks and shoals were seen ahead, on which the ship was put upon a wind off shore.” [Hope Islands]
COOK – “Before ten O’clock we had 20 and 21 fathom and continued in that depth until before eleven when we had 17 and before the man at the lead could heave another cast the ship struck and stuck fast.”
BANKS – “Our situation became now greatly alarming. We were little less than certain that we were upon sunken coral rocks, the most dreadful of all others on account of their sharp points and grinding quality which cut through a ships bottom almost immediately. The officers however behaved with inimitable coolness void of all hurry and confusion.”
COOK – “Immediately we took in all our sails and hoisted out our boats and sounded round the ship.”
BANKS – “All this time she continued to beat very much so that we could hardly keep our legs upon the quarter deck; by the light of the moon we could see her sheathing boards floating thick around her. About twelve her false keel came away.”
COOK – “I found most water astern, and therefore had the coasting anchor carried out upon the starboard quarter and hove upon it a very great strain which was to no purpose the ship being quite fast. We went to work to lighten her as fast as possible which seemed to be the only means we had left to get her off as we went ashore about the top of high water. We not only started water but throwed over board our guns, iron and stone ballast, casks, hoops, starves, oil jars, decayed stores. All this time the ship made little or no water.”
BANKS – “In this situation the day broke upon us and showed us the land about 8 leagues off as we judged’ nearer than that was no island or place on which we could set foot. It however brought with it a decrease of wind and soon after that a flat calm, the most fortunate circumstance that could possible attend people in our circumstances.”
COOK – “At 11 O’clock in the am being high water as we thought we tried to heave her off without success, she not being afloat by a foot or more notwithstanding by this time we had thrown overboard 40 or 50 ton weight; as this was found not sufficient we continued to lighten her by every method we could think of.”
BANKS – “All this time the seamen worked with surprising cheerfulness and alacrity; no grumbling or growling was to be heard throughout the ship, no not even an oath - though the ship in general was as well furnished with them as most in his majesties service.”
COOK – “As the tide fell the ship began to make water as much as two pumps could free.”
PARKINSON – “About noon, the ship heaved much on one side.”
12th June
COOK – “Fortunately a smooth sea all these twenty four hours gave us an opportunity to carry out two bower anchors, the one on the starboard quarter and the other right a stern. Got blocks and tackles upon the cables brought the falls in abaft and hove taught. By this time it was 5 O’clock in the pm, the tide we observed now began to rise..”
BANKS – “…as it rose the ship worked violently upon the rocks so that she began to make water and increased very fast.”
COOK – “…which obliged us to set the third pump to work, as we should have done the forth also, but could not make it work.”
BANKS - “The forth absolutely refused to deliver a drop of water.”
PARKINSON – “Every man on board assisted, the Captain, Mr Banks and all the officers, not excepted; relieving one another every quarter of an hour.”
BANKS - “Now in my opinion I entirely gave up the ship and packing up what I thought I might save prepared myself for the worst.”
COOK – “At 9pm the ship righted and the leak gained upon the pumps considerably. This was an alarming and I may say terrible circumstance and threatened immediate destruction to us as soon as the ship was afloat.”
BANKS – “The most critical part of our distress now approached; the ship was almost afloat and everything ready to get her into deep water but she leaked so fast that with all our pumps we could just keep her free. If, as was probable, she should make more water when hauled off she must sink, and we well knew that our boats were not capable of carrying us all ashore, so that some, probably the most of us, must be drowned; a better fate maybe than those would have who should get ashore without arms to defend themselves from the Indians, or provide themselves with food, on a country where we had not the least reason to hope for subsistence, so barren had we always found it; debarred from a hope of ever again seeing their native country or conversing with any but the most uncivilised savages perhaps in the world.”
COOK – “However I resolved to risk all and heave her off.”
BANKS – “A dreadful time now approached and the anxiety in everybody’s countenance was visible enough; the capstan and windlass were manned and they began to heave; fear of death now stared us in the face.”
COOK – “About twenty past ten O’clock the ship floated and we hove her off into deep water…”
BANKS – “…where to our great satisfaction she made no more water than she had done.”
PARKINSON – “This desirable event gave us spirits; which, however, proved but the transient gleam of sun shine, in a tempestuous day..”
COOK - “A mistake soon after happened which caused fear to operate upon every man in the ship.”
BANKS – “The people who had been 24 hours at exceeding hard work now began to flag; myself unused to labour was much fatigued and had laid down to take a rest, was awaked about 12 with the alarming news of the ship having four feet water in her hold.”
PARKINSON – “..the water increased faster than we could throw it out; and we expected, every minute, that the ship would sink, or that we should be obliged to run her again upon the rocks.”
BANKS – “This however acted upon everybody like a charm: rest was no more thought of but the pumps went with a unwearied vigour till water was all out which was done in a much shorter time than was expected, and upon examination it was found that she never had half so much water in her as was thought, the carpenter having made a mistake in sounding the pumps.”
BANKS – “We now began again to have some hopes and to talk of getting the ship into some harbour.”
COOK – “Got up the fore topmast and foreyard, warped the Ship to the SE and at 11 got under sail and stood in for land with a light breeze at ESE.”
13th June
BANKS – “One of our midshipmen now proposed an expedient which no one else in the ship had seen practised, though all had heard of it by the name of fothering the ship. He was immediately set to work with 4 or 5 assistants.”
COOK – “Mr Monkhouse executed it very much to my satisfaction.”
PARKINSON – “We sewed a great quantity of hair and oakum to a large piece of canvas which we let down by two ropes, one on each side of the bow of the ship: in making way she sucked this under close to her bottom; and, when it reached the leak it was forced in by the intruding water, and obstructed its passage so much, that we kept it under with a single pump.”
BANKS – “In about half an hour to our great surprise the ship was pumped dry and upon letting the pumps stand she was found to make very little water.”
COOK – “This fortunate circumstance gave new life to everyone on board. It is much easier to conceive than to describe the satisfaction felt by everybody on board on this occasion. Every man’s hopes enlarged …”
BANKS – “..in an instant raised from almost despondency to the greatest hopes.”
PARKINSON – “Providentially too at this instant a breeze sprang up and we steered towards the land..”
COOK – “In justice to the Ships Company I must say that no men ever behaved better than they have done on this occasion animated by the behavior of every gentleman on board, every man seemed to have a just sense of the danger we were in and exercised himself to the utmost."
COOK - We now thought of nothing but ranging along shore in search of a harbour where we could repair the damages we had sustained.”
BANKS –“..the boats keeping ahead and examining every appearance of a harbour which presented itself.”
COOK – “At 3 O’clock saw an opening that had the appearance of a harbour. Stood off and on while the boats were examining it who found that there was not sufficient depth of water for the ship.”[Annan River]
BANKS – “Nothing was met with which could possibly suit our situation, bad as it was, having nothing but a lock of wool between us and destruction, so at night we came to an anchor.”
14th June
BANKS – “The pinnace however which had gone far ahead was not returned, nor did she till nine O’clock, when she reported that she had found just the place we wanted.”
COOK - “ …about 2 leagues to leeward. In consequence of this information we at 6 in the am weighed and run down to it.”
BANKS – “A boat was sent ahead to shew us the way into the harbour, but by some mistake of signals we were obliged to come to an anchor again off the mouth of it without going in, where it soon blew too fresh for us to weigh.”
PARKINSON – “Now it began to blow hard which prevented us from getting into the bay until the 18th.”
BANKS – “The Captain and myself went ashore to view the harbour and found it indeed beyond our most sanguine wishes. The meeting with so many natural advantages in a harbour so near us at the time of our misfortune appeared almost providential; we had not in the voyage before seen a place so well suited for our purpose as this was; we therefore returned onboard in high spirits and raised the spirits of our friends on board as much as our own by bringing them the welcome news of our approaching security.”
15th June
BANKS – “It blew too fresh to night for us to weigh the anchor, I even think as fresh as it has ever done since we have been upon the Coast. Blew all day as fresh as it did yesterday.”
16th June
BANKS – “At night we observed a fire ashore where we were to lay, which made us hope that the necessary length of our stay would give us an opportunity of being acquainted with the Indians who made it. In the morn…fires were made upon the hills and we saw 4 Indians through our glasses who went away along shore, in going along which they had made two more fires for what purpose we could not guess.”
BANKS – “Tupia [The Tahitian priest who joined the expedition in Tahiti] whose bad gums were very soon followed by livid spots on his legs and every symptom of inveterate scurvy became now extreemly ill; Mr Green the astronomer was also in a poor way.”
17th June
COOK – “At 6 in the am being pretty moderate we weighed and run in to the harbour in doing which the Ship ashore twice. While the Ship held fast we got down the foreyard, fore topmast, booms &c overboard and made a raft of them alongside.”
BANKS – “In the meantime Dr Solander and myself began our Plant gathering.”
18th June
COOK – “At 1pm the ship floated and we warped her into the harbour.”
