Captain Cook’s Tragic Death
Year of production - 2008
Duration - 5min 30sec
Tags - artistic manipulation, Captain Cook, colonisation, conflict, discovery, exploration, icons, image and reality, national identity, see all tags
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From the series Hidden Treasures – Inside the National Library of Australia.
The National Library of Australia is the country’s largest reference library with over nine million items in its collection, including a surprising number of art works. In a new series of Hidden Treasures, Betty Churcher presents an insider’s guide to some of the little known and rarely displayed art treasures held by the National Library. From her unique vantage point, Churcher makes intriguing historical connections between paintings and engravings, photography, manuscripts and artifacts, illustrated journals and diaries. These are fascinating tales about the creative process and the works themselves that offer a tantalising insight into Australia’s culture and heritage.
A Film Australia National Interest Program in association with Early Works. Produced in association with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. With special thanks to the National Library of Australia.
Inquiry question:
How can a knowledge and understanding of the nature of history and the methods of historical inquiry be applied to the study of a thematic issue?
Outcomes:
A student
E5.5 evaluates the contribution of cultural groups, sites, and/or family to our shared heritage
E5.6 identifies, comprehends and evaluates historical sources and uses them appropriately in an historical inquiry
E5.8 locates, selects and organises relevant historical information from a number of sources, including ICT, to undertake historical inquiry
E5.9 uses historical terms and concepts in appropriate contexts
E5.10 selects and uses appropriate oral, written and other forms, including ICT, to communicate effectively about the past for different audiences.
Captain James Cook’s untimely return to Hawaii in 1779, 10 days after he had left, ended with his violent death, the details of which are portrayed in numerous illustrations in the National Library collection. Many artists, including the official artist for the voyage, John Webber, recreated the scene in the years following Cook’s death. Each artist portrayed a different view: Cook the white knight, Cook the peacemaker, Cook the leader of a military offensive. But we know that Webber didn’t witness the death so it seems likely that an engraving made from the drawings of DP Dodd and other witnesses are more likely to represent what really happened.
Students are encouraged to view Episode 5 of Hidden Treasures entitled Captain Cook in Hawaii. Taken together, they help us to explore the nature of and reasons for Cook’s death in 1779. Your task is to use the information in the programs to create a narrative or a storyboard that sets out the sequence of events, explains the reasons for, and comments on the degree to which we can be certain about the events of Cook’s death.
- Which action of Cook’s destroyed the illusion that Cook represented Orono?
- Look at the different representations of Cook’s death in the segment. What message does each give about his death?
- All were painted after the event and none was painted by an eyewitness. How does that influence the nature and purpose of the paintings? You might be assisted in this by first reading the account of his death.
This account by ship’s surgeon, David Samwell, is regarded as the most complete and reliable one. List the elements that contributed to the cause of Cook’s death. For example, you might include the date and time—if Cook had landed earlier or later things might have been different. You might list Cook’s character—if he had not been so confident he might have behaved with greater caution. You might list the illness of Clerke—if he had led the party as Cook originally intended then Cook would not have been on the beach at the time of the attack. And so on. From the list that you make, create a statement about the nature of causation in history. - Use the information in the two episodes on Captain Cook in National Treasures and any other research to create a narrative or a storyboard that sets out the sequence of events, explains the reasons for, and comments on the degree to which we can be certain about the events of Cook’s death.
- Summarise in just one or two sentences why these journals and illustrations are ‘treasures’ in our knowledge and understanding of aspects of Australian history.
Go to Screen Australia Digital Learning’s Arts Portal
Find out more about the Endeavour Journal at the National Library of Australia’s website
Go to the Captain Cook – Obsession and Discovery website
