Tupaia, Isaac and Cook: The Search for the ‘Great South Land

Age range 6 to 9

There are as many mistruths as there are truths about James Co ok and his famous first Voyage of discovery, including his secret orders to find the mythical ‘Great Southern Continent’.

This book shows a new side to this voyage.

Cook may never have stumbled onto the South East coast of Australia at all, if it had not been for a young Raiatean master Navigator named Tupaia. He came on board the ship Endeavour when it was in Tahitian waters, and essentially piloted the ship through much of the Pacific. He facilitated communication with the First Nation peoples they met, particularly in New Zealand, and on more than one occasion, saved Cook and his entourage from being massacred. This book does not document all that happened on that voyage. I t puts into perspective the importance of Tupaia to the voyage that changed the course of history, and altered forever the lives of many people throughout the Pacific.