When was he born?
James Cook was born on 27th October, 1728, in the village of Marton, Yorkshire, in the north of England.
He was the second son of James and Grace Cook – at that time James senior was employed as a labourer; eight years later he was promoted to farm manager and the family moved to the village of Great Ayton. Young James attended the Postgate school there for the next four years.
What was a farm boy doing in the Navy?
In 1745, at the age of sixteen James became a ‘shop-boy’ in the seaside village of Staithes, the start of his lifelong love of the sea, and a year later was apprenticed as a merchant sailor in the nearby port of
Whitby.
As an experienced seaman James Cook joined the Royal Navy in 1755 and in less than a month was promoted to Master’s Mate and less than two years later passed the examinations to become a ship’s Master. During the next ten years he gained considerable surveying experience along the east coast of North America, developing the technical skill in mathematics and astronomy that were to make him such a great explorer.
How did he come to be Captain of the Endeavour?
The British Admiralty, aware of Cook’s achievements, appointed him to lead a voyage of scientific discovery in the South Pacific. In August, 1768, the “Endeavour” with Cook in command, left England. They sailed around Cape Horn to Tahiti to record astronomic observations of the Transit of Venus the following year. Cook then opened the Admiralty’s ‘secret orders’ and set off in search of ‘the great south land’. Their first glimpse of the Australian mainland is now known as Point Hicks in Victoria and the first British landing on Australian soil occurred at Botany Bay in April 1770, where Cook raised the Union Jack and proclaimed the land for the Empire.
Was he the world’s greatest explorer?
Today Captain Cook is remembered for his extraordinary achievements in navigation and cartography, for his outstanding leadership in maintaining healthy and disciplined crews and for the personal drive that he himself expressed as his intention:“to go not only farther than any man has been before me, but as far as I think it is possible for man to go”. He certainly traveled an incredible distance in his three great voyages of exploration and the maps he drew were so accurate that they could still be used today (all three voyages light up on the map in the Souvenir Shop adjoining Cooks’ Cottage).
Keeping his men alive was also acknowledged as a great accomplishment at a time when most long sea voyages recorded losing half the crew to scurvy. The Admiralty recorded not a single death to scurvy on any of Cook’s expeditions.
Was this Cottage Captain Cook’s own home?
The Captain was born in a two roomed cottage in the village of Marton and when he was eight the family moved to nearby Great Ayton where James attended the Postgate School for the next four years. This Cottage was built some years later (by then James was 27 and an experienced seaman) as the home of his parents.
James is known to have visited friends and family in the North between voyages, (on one occasion with his wife Elizabeth), and it is reasonable to assume that he did spend some time with his parents in this house.
How old is Cooks’ Cottage?
The date of its original construction in 1755, in Great Ayton, Yorkshire, England makes this the oldest building in Australia.
Did the Cottage always look as it does now?
Cooks’ Cottage as seen today is as near as possible to its 18th Century configuration, although the garden setting varies from the village street it first occupied. It is possible that James Cook senior built much of the structure himself as it was at this time that he left his long-standing employer to become a stonemason. The beautiful sandstone around the entry is believed to be completely original and is typical of local stone quarried in the area.
Over the following 178 years alterations and renovations altered the layout of this Cottage and its adjoining neighbours, some of these changes have been reversed in this reconstruction.
How did the Cottage come to be in Melbourne?
In June, 1933 the following cabled report appeared in the Melbourne ‘Herald’ newspaper;
“HISTORICAL COTTAGE TO BE SOLD Built by Captain Cook’s Father. London. Friday The cottage of Great Ayton where Captain Cook always went in the intervals between his voyages to the South Seas, is to be sold at auction. The great navigator’s father built the cottage in 1755, and his mother died there in 1768, Cook last visited his father there before he sailed in the Resolution in 1772. He never saw him again. The cottage is in an excellent state of preservation and has been visited by antiquarians and historians from all parts of the world. Wealthy Americans wished to buy it but the owners decided not to allow it to be sent abroad. The impending sale has led to inquiries from all parts of Great Britain for pieces of wood and stone from the cottage to be preserved as souvenirs.”
Some days later a number of well known Melbourne residents called for the Cottage to be bought for reerection in Melbourne as the capital city of the state whose coastline includes Cook’s first sight of
Australia (now known as Point Hicks, formerly Cape Everard). During the next two weeks Melbourne businessman Russell Grimwade (later Sir Russell) offered to buy the Cottage as a gift to the people of
Victoria and the States representative in London was able to persuade the owner to change her condition of sale from its erection ‘not outside England’ to ‘not outside the Empire’.
The Victorian bid of £800, as compared to the best local offer of £300, was then accepted. An architectural firm surveyed the cottage and supervised its dismantling with every component being carefully numbered before being packed into 253 cases and 40 barrels, while some items were encased in protective concrete. Loading and transport of the materials through Hull, the actual shipping, and the
unloading and removal to Fitzroy Gardens was all achieved in a very short time with the cooperation of government bodies and private companies who waived most costs.
And why is it in Fitzroy Gardens?
Although other sites were considered the Fitzroy Gardens became the preferred option, partly because of the idyllic, leafy background and the new and fashionable nearby Conservatory. Opened to the public in 1934 as part of Victoria’s Centenary celebrations, the Cottage immediately became a very popular attraction.
The Cottage reinforces the traditional English design of the Gardens with its plantings of European trees, the major pathways set out in the shape of the Union Jack flag and the emphasis on Victorian
design in fountains and statuary.
Who cares for the Cottage?
A building of this age does, of course, require continuous and careful maintenance. Some major repairs were carried out in 1955 until finally, in 1978 with the assistance of The National Trust, “a more
thorough effort was made to investigate and restore the building, furnish it with material appropriate to the period and surround it with a garden of 18th Century character.” Today it is carefully maintained
by the City of Melbourne and has become a well- loved icon for the people of Victoria as well as a major tourist attraction.