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ENDEAVOUR
This is the first ‘discovery ship’ of which detailed descriptions are available. Launched at Whitby in 1764 as the cat-built collier barque Earl of Pembroke, she was purchased by the British Admiralty and fitted out for a scientific journey to the South Seas to observe the transit of Venus from Tahiti and ascertain whether a southern continent really existed. In command was Lieutenant James Cook. The expedition left Plymouth on 25 August 1768 and was to fill in substantial gaps in the world map, determining New Zealand to be two islands and exploring the eastern coast of Australia. She returned to England on 12 July 1771.
Endeavour underwent a much-needed refit and was then used for three voyages to the Falkland Islands. In March 1775, sold by the Admiralty, she resumed her first occupation as a collier. From 1790, under French ownership and the name
La Liberté, she was used as a whaler until she grounded off Newport, Rhode Island, in 1793 and was subsequently broken up.
Length: 97ft 8in (29.7m)
Beam: 29ft 4in (8.9m)
Depth: 11ft 3in (3.4m)
Displacement: 366t burthen
Rigging: three masts; square rig
Armament: six swivel guns
Complement: 85
Routes: South Seas
Fact File: A replica of Endeavour – built at Fremantle, Australia, in 1994 – was sailed to the United Kingdom.