March. April 85Cook’s ship Endeavour began life as
the collier Earl of Pembroke in 1764.
It was built in the North Yorkshire
port of Whitby from tough, durable,
local oak. Designed to haul coal,
it had a flat bottom, shallow
draught and a capacious hold. It was
earmarked for Cook’s first scientific
voyage and refitted at the Royal
Dockyard, Deptford, London, in 1768.
Pictured: The bark, Earl of Pembroke,
leaving Whitby Harbour in 1768,
by Thomas Luny, c. 1790.
National Library of Australia.