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The Journal of Joseph Banks in the Endeavour
'... a man is never so well Employ'd, as when he is labouring for the advantage of the Public; without the Expectation, the Hope or Even a wish to derive advantage of any Kind from the Result of his exertions.'
Joseph Banks, from a note in the Kent archives.
Preface by H.R.H. The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
Publication of the Genesis facsimile edition of Joseph Banks's Endeavour Journal should help to restore the reputation of a brilliant polymath. Banks's contemporary international standing was unique; and he dominated the London scientific scene for nearly half a century.
Joseph Banks
Reproduced from the original manuscript held by the Mitchell Library, Sydney, Banks's Journal is an absorbing document. In addition to a wealth of zoological and botanical observation, it contains detailed ethnographical notes on the behaviour, customs and languages of the peoples he visited: a shining example for all future voyages of discovery.
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The North Island, New Zealand. Drawn for Banks by R. Pickersgill. |
Pencil drawing by Spöring of Maoris in a canoe. |
The Endeavour had been at sea for almost two years. Officers and men were weary and longed for home; but the ship's captain, James Cook, obeying secret Admiralty orders, ordered the ship to sail on. Also eager to continue the voyage was the most important passenger aboard: Joseph Banks, a qualified scientist and one of the ablest young botanists of the day. With him was his friend Dr. Daniel Solander, a gifted pupil of Linnaeus, and a small group of draughtsmen and trained collectors.
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Water-colour by an unidentified artist. A Maori offering a crayfish to a member of the ship's company. |
On April 28 1770, the Endeavour dropped anchor in a pleasant bay, 'tollerably well sheltered from all winds', on the east coast of Australia. Two Aborigines in white warpaint hurled spears at the first landing parties until one was shot and wounded. Banks mistook the boomerangs carried by other natives for 'scmitars' - it was to provide the first of many surprises.
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Godsticks from Tahiti and New Zealand. Wash drawing by J.F. Miller. |
Wash drawing of the Giant Petrel Macronectes giganteus, by an unknown artist. |
By chance, the Endeavour had sailed into one of the most pleasant parts of that great southern land. For two weeks Banks and his party landed each day and roamed through the countryside, collecting strange flowers, plants and animals previously unknown to Europeans. It is not difficult to imagine the rising excitement as they examined the specimens in the great cabin on board the Endeavour. This one region alone had yielded numerous different species of plants; and it was only natural that Cook, in deference to his colleagues, should eventually commemorate their haul by naming the place Botany Bay.
In Australia, Banks was to see wild life of all kinds - flying foxes, kangaroos, dingoes, birds and fish, new plants such as the Eucalyptus (various species), Bottle Brush (Callistemon rigidus), Strawflower (Brachycome iberidifolia), Blue Lace-Flower (Trachymene caerulea) and hundreds of others.
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This edition is in two volumes and limited to 500 numbered sets hand bound in quarter leather with gilt tooling and page edges. Size: 240mm x 170mm
In addition to the faithful reproduction of Banks's handwritten journal there is a newly written illustrated commentary by the late Dr Averil Lysaght.
ISBN: 0 904351 05 X (complete set)
Price: £475/$795
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