The Endeavour replica
Port Adelaide
The replica ship the Endeavour is currently visiting Adelaide. Whilst it's here, it's open to the public, I've seen the ship a few times, including in its home turf Sydney Harbour, but have never been on board. So I went off to have a look.
The original Endeavour that Captain James Cook sailed in the late 18th century to the South Pacific, was used as a troop ship during the American War of Independence and was scuttled off the coast of Rhode Island. (Ah research again!)
The idea to build a replica was tied in with the celebrations of the Australian Bicentary in 1988, but it ran into financial difficulties and the ship wasn't launched until 1994. (The space shuttle Endeavour was named after the ship, and it has a wooden nail on board that had been into space, and back on the Endeavour space shuttle. Nice little bit of trivia there!)
She is now used for trips around Australia, or day trips around Sydney Harbour, as her home base is the Maritime Museum in Sydney.
Along with the Endeavour, 2 other Tall Ships that are based in Adelaide were moored beside her. The Falie, which is an original ship built in 1919 and was used until 1982 to transport grain and other cargo around the coast of South Australia. She's now used as a training ship for sailors wanting to join the merchant navy. The other ship is The One and All, which was specially built by volunteers for the 150th anniversary of the proclamation of South Australia. She's not a copy, and is used for trips with young people. The One and All was also open for people to climb aboard. The Falie wasn't.
The Falie, the One and All and the Endeavour in the distance.
The replica was built to the same measurements as the original, the original had been surveyed many times by the British Navy and those records could be found in the British Maritime Museum.
One of the bow anchors, its twin is on the other side. These were cast from the original anchor that Captain Cook lost on the Great Barrier Reef, they weigh just under a ton each!
There are ropes everywhere, huge ones at that, amazing to see. I would love to see her under full sail.
The ship's bell, which regulated life on board ship for the crew.
The dinning area for the ship's crew, set up with props for the paying visitors looking through the ship. The seats were the wooden chests used for storing possessions, the large barrels I think for storing fresh water, the smaller ones for rum rations (?)
The hammocks for sleeping, this area was really claustrophobic as the ceiling was really low and you had to walk through totally bent over.
More props to give and idea of what it looked like during Captain Cook's time, dress coat and sailor's chest, below decks.
In the stern of the ship was a large spacious area where the officers could eat and meet. During the long exploration voyage to the South Pacific, the botanist Joseph Banks had a cabin next to this area. It's been rebuilt here with apparently some of his actual memorabilia, that's a shell collection on display.
Enjoyed the visit, the replica gives a really good feel of what life on board the original ship would have been like. I didn't like the below decks with the low ceiling at all, seeing that would have been enough for me to never want to leave dry land! What I really liked about the ship was that it was one that was still being used, not just a museum piece. After it leaves Adelaide, paying passengers can do a trip to Port Lincoln, a longer one to Portland (in the state of Victoria, not Oregon!) or a really long one to Sydney.
Port Adelaide
The replica ship the Endeavour is currently visiting Adelaide. Whilst it's here, it's open to the public, I've seen the ship a few times, including in its home turf Sydney Harbour, but have never been on board. So I went off to have a look.
The original Endeavour that Captain James Cook sailed in the late 18th century to the South Pacific, was used as a troop ship during the American War of Independence and was scuttled off the coast of Rhode Island. (Ah research again!)
The idea to build a replica was tied in with the celebrations of the Australian Bicentary in 1988, but it ran into financial difficulties and the ship wasn't launched until 1994. (The space shuttle Endeavour was named after the ship, and it has a wooden nail on board that had been into space, and back on the Endeavour space shuttle. Nice little bit of trivia there!)
She is now used for trips around Australia, or day trips around Sydney Harbour, as her home base is the Maritime Museum in Sydney.
Along with the Endeavour, 2 other Tall Ships that are based in Adelaide were moored beside her. The Falie, which is an original ship built in 1919 and was used until 1982 to transport grain and other cargo around the coast of South Australia. She's now used as a training ship for sailors wanting to join the merchant navy. The other ship is The One and All, which was specially built by volunteers for the 150th anniversary of the proclamation of South Australia. She's not a copy, and is used for trips with young people. The One and All was also open for people to climb aboard. The Falie wasn't.
In the stern of the ship was a large spacious area where the officers could eat and meet. During the long exploration voyage to the South Pacific, the botanist Joseph Banks had a cabin next to this area. It's been rebuilt here with apparently some of his actual memorabilia, that's a shell collection on display.
Enjoyed the visit, the replica gives a really good feel of what life on board the original ship would have been like. I didn't like the below decks with the low ceiling at all, seeing that would have been enough for me to never want to leave dry land! What I really liked about the ship was that it was one that was still being used, not just a museum piece. After it leaves Adelaide, paying passengers can do a trip to Port Lincoln, a longer one to Portland (in the state of Victoria, not Oregon!) or a really long one to Sydney.
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