The painting of Matavai Bay provides a particularly good image of the place in Tahiti to which Cook returned on all his voyages.

This chair once belonged to Joseph Banks and was used by him on board Endeavour

A Chart of the Banks of Newfoundland, Drawn from a Great Number of Hydrographical Surveys

In 2022 we purchased at auction a pocket compass which belonged to a young midshipman on Cook’s second voyage.  It had belonged to...

In the Artists room there is a case filled with shells of species which we know were in the collection made by Betsy Bligh, wife of the...

Ice! Exploring the Far South Special Exhibition marking the 250th anniversary of the first crossing of the Antarctic Circle in 1773

We were thrilled back in 2016 to acquire this magnificent drawing by the artist John Webber (1751-1791), who served as the official...

This delightful watercolour was painted by William Ellis (1751-1784) during the third voyage. Ellis was a crew member as Surgeon’s second...