Landfall and Landmark: Captain James Cook and the Crew of Resolution at Dusky Bay, New Zealand, in or about April 1773

Abstract

On 26 March 1773, Captain James Cook's ship Resolution made safe harbour in Dusky Bay, a sound at the southernmost point of New Zealand's South Island. Following a lengthy sea voyage, this remote, densely forested area had a restorative effect, supplying the mariners with much needed food and shelter. In addition, this sojourn provided rich opportunity for scientific investigation, as well as prompting a good deal of poetic reflection and philosophical musing on the historical significance of the landing. Besides being much admired for their sublime grandeur, these surroundings were carefully mapped and recorded by the crew. However, this apparently idyllic, antediluvian setting was judged, by the nature of its sublimity, to elude satisfactory depiction. The intractable nature of the place was also to prompt palpable disgust, as dank conditions began to become oppressive. This article examines the voyagers' literary and pictorial responses to this environment, and suggests that the representation of the rainforest and surrounding coastline is revealing, not only of the limitations of conventional frames of reference when faced with the strange and unfamiliar, but also of the capacity of such landscapes to be simultaneously alienating and welcoming.