Captain James Cook series

The historical significance of the Cook–Forster ethnographic collection of the University of Göttingen in Germany is examined by historian Paul Turnbull.

Curator Nigel Erskine discusses the official account of Captain James Cook’s third Pacific voyage, particularly the introductory essay by German naturalist and fellow voyager Georg Forster.

Anthropologist Adrienne Kaeppler outlines the research that has gone into reconstructing the ethnographic collections from Captain James Cook’s three Pacific voyages.

Historian Greg Dening examines the cultural achievements of the Sea of Islands or Pacific peoples with a particular focus on Tupaia, a priest of Oro, who joined Captain James Cook on the Endeavour.

Historian Paul Tapsell discusses how artefacts in Joseph Banks’ collection from Captain James Cook’s first voyage to the Pacific can be viewed as ‘taonga’, or Maori treasured possessions.

Curator Doreen Mellor examines the life-changing consequences for Australian Indigenous peoples of Captain James Cook’s first Pacific journey, and subsequent European settlement, as the background to the story of the Stolen Generations.

Historian Lissant Bolton considers the nature of Captain James Cook’s fame in a museological context and discusses how difficult it is to present artefacts from the Pacific in an exhibition without reference to Cook’s three voyages.