North Otago is an area in New Zealand that covers the area of the Otago region between Shag Point and the Waitaki River , and extends inland to the west as far as the village of Omarama (which has experienced rapid growth as a developing centre for astronomy and for gliding ).
110-680: Oamaru ( / ˌ ɒ m ə ˈ r uː / ; Māori : Te Oha-a-Maru ) is the largest town in North Otago , in the South Island of New Zealand, it is the main town in the Waitaki District . It is 80 kilometres (50 mi) south of Timaru and 120 kilometres (75 mi) north of Dunedin on the Pacific coast; State Highway 1 and the railway Main South Line connect it to both cities. With
220-416: A dry dock . Her hull , internal floors , and futtocks were built from traditional white oak , her keel and stern post from elm , and her masts from pine and fir . Plans of the ship also show a double keelson to lock the keel, floors and frames in place. There is uncertainty about the height of her standing masts, as surviving diagrams of Endeavour depict the body of the vessel only, and not
330-691: A book binder. Many of the buildings in this area close to the harbour used to serve as commercial warehouses and stores and now provide large spaces for galleries such as the Forrester Gallery, the Grainstore Gallery, The Libratory , and Steampunk HQ . Even the playgrounds in the harbour area continue the Victorian/industrial steam theme with a giant penny-farthing structure supporting the swings, and several steampunk -styled playground features. North Otago Prominent rivers include
440-566: A captain in the Royal Navy. First Lord of the Admiralty Edward Hawke refused, going so far as to say he would rather cut off his right hand than give command of a navy vessel to someone not educated as a seaman. In refusing Dalrymple's command, Hawke was influenced by previous insubordination aboard the sloop HMS Paramour in 1698, when naval officers had refused to take orders from civilian commander Edmond Halley . The impasse
550-658: A flag and plaque confirming Britain's sovereignty. Endeavour was paid off in September 1774, being sold in March 1775 by the Royal Navy to shipping magnate J. Mather for £645. Mather returned her to sea for at least one commercial voyage to Archangel in Russia. Once the American War of Independence had commenced, the British government needed ships to carry troops and materiel across
660-530: A fleet of Royal Navy and hired craft, including Lord Sandwich 2 , were scuttled at various locations in the Bay. Lord Sandwich 2 , previously Endeavour , previously Earl of Pembroke , was sunk on 4 August 1778. The owners of the sunken vessels were compensated by the British government for the loss of their ships. The Admiralty valuation for 10 of the sunken vessels recorded that many had been built in Yorkshire, and
770-491: A great party from Taumutu, Akaroa, Orawenua [Arowhenua]. They were returning. The [sealers'] boat passed on to the Bluff 8 miles [13 km] north of Moeraki where they landed & arranged their boat – & lay down to sleep in their boat. At night Pukuheke, father of Te More, went to the boat, found them asleep & came back to the other Natives south of the Bluff. They went with 100 [men] killing 5 Europeans & eat them. Two of
880-461: A historic precinct. The great palladian St Patrick's Basilica is also a fine example in white Oamaru stone. The Victorian theme has been embraced by local shops and galleries in this part of Oamaru in terms of shop fittings and décor. Further enhancing the "olden days" feel of the precinct are several arts and crafts shops, a transportation museum, an antique furniture shop, and traditional businesses such as book shops, antique clothing shops, and
990-461: A milking goat. The first port of call was Funchal in the Madeira Islands , which Endeavour reached on 12 September. The ship was recaulked and painted, and fresh vegetables, beef and water were brought aboard for the next leg of the voyage. While in port, an accident cost the life of master's mate Robert Weir, who became entangled in the anchor cable and was dragged overboard when the anchor
1100-601: A naval schooner sold out of service in 1782. A further letter to the Providence Journal stated that a retired English sailor was conducting guided tours of a hulk on the River Thames as late as 1825, claiming that the ship had once been Cook's Endeavour. In 1991 the Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project (RIMAP) began research into the identity of the thirteen transports sunk as part of
1210-511: A party of absconding lascars. Brown must have had some reason for searching for them on the North Otago coast. After Te Rauparaha 's sack of the large pā (fortified settlement) at Kaiapoi near modern Christchurch in 1831, refugees came south and gained permission to settle at Kakaunui (Kakanui), and the territory between Pukeuri and Waianakarua, including the site of urban Oamaru, became their domain. Whalers sometimes visited this part of
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#17328511476451320-465: A poet and patron of artists; Douglas Lilburn (1915–2001), "the elder statesman of New Zealand music"; James Bertram (1910–1993), writer and academic; Denis Blundell , a future Governor-General of New Zealand ; and Ian Milner (1911–1991), the Rector's son, a Czech and English scholar falsely accused of spying for Communism. His father, known as "The Man", died suddenly on 2 December 1944 while speaking at
1430-551: A population of 14,350, Oamaru is the 28th largest urban area in New Zealand, and the third largest in Otago behind Dunedin and Queenstown . The town is the seat of Waitaki District, which includes the surrounding towns of Kurow , Weston , Palmerston , and Hampden , which combined have a total population of 23,200. Friendly Bay is a popular recreational area located at the edge of Oamaru Harbour, south of Oamaru's main centre. Just to
1540-560: A scientific mission to the Pacific Ocean and to explore the seas for the surmised Terra Australis Incognita or "unknown southern land". Commissioned as His Majesty's Bark Endeavour , she departed Plymouth in August 1768, rounded Cape Horn and reached Tahiti in time to observe the 1769 transit of Venus across the Sun. She then set sail into the largely uncharted ocean to the south, stopping at
1650-450: Is described by Statistics New Zealand as a medium urban area, which covers 20.21 km (7.80 sq mi) and had an estimated population of 14,350 as of June 2024, with a population density of 710 people per km. Before the 2023 census, Oamaru had a larger boundary, covering 21.46 km (8.29 sq mi). Using that boundary, Oamaru had a population of 13,107 at the 2018 New Zealand census , an increase of 801 people (6.5%) since
1760-609: Is home to much of Oamaru's live entertainment and performances. It was restored in 2009. The refurbishment won the Public Architecture category of the 2010 Southern Architecture Awards and the 2011 NZIA Heritage award for Heritage Conservation. Oamaru Opera House is one of the most significant heritage sites in Oamaru, important to the town and nationally to New Zealand. The Waitaki District Library has branches situated in Oamaru, Palmerston, Kurow, Hampden, Omarama, and Otematata (forming
1870-639: Is now known as Botany Bay . Endeavour then sailed north along the Australian coast. She narrowly avoided disaster after running aground on the Great Barrier Reef , and Cook had to throw her guns overboard to lighten her. Endeavour was beached on the Australian mainland for seven weeks to permit repairs to her hull. Resuming her voyage, she limped into port in Batavia in October 1770, her crew sworn to secrecy about
1980-505: Is the home of Oamaru's live theatre productions. Oamaru has a comprehensive range of community sporting facilities for rugby, tennis, swimming, netball, cricket, golf, hockey, and bowls. Centennial Park is Oamaru's major sporting venue, and is the home of North Otago Rugby Football Union and North Otago Cricket . The council also owns and operates the Oamaru Aquatic Centre. Many of the early works of Janet Frame , who grew up in
2090-628: Is the only Olympic gold medalist from Waitaki. He was born in Waimate but grew up in Oamaru and was educated at Waitaki Boys High School. The world first learned of the death of Robert Scott and the members of his team on their return from the ill-fated expedition to the South Pole by way of a cable sent from Oamaru, on 10 February 1913. From 1906 to 1944 Frank Milner (1875–1944) was the headteacher at Waitaki Boys' High School . Notable students include Charles Brasch (1909–1973) at Waitaki (1923–1926),
2200-547: The 2013 census , and an increase of 1,077 people (9.0%) since the 2006 census . There were 5,463 households, comprising 6,267 males and 6,840 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.92 males per female, with 2,328 people (17.8%) aged under 15 years, 2,016 (15.4%) aged 15 to 29, 5,439 (41.5%) aged 30 to 64, and 3,324 (25.4%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 86.9% European/ Pākehā , 8.1% Māori , 6.0% Pasifika , 4.7% Asian , and 1.6% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas
2310-487: The Endeavour River . Cook attempted to enter the river mouth, but strong winds and rain prevented Endeavour from crossing the bar until the morning of 17 June. She grounded briefly on a sand spit but was refloated an hour later and warped into the river proper by early afternoon. The ship was promptly beached on the southern bank and careened to make repairs to the hull. Torn sails and rigging were also replaced and
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#17328511476452420-584: The Falkland Islands . The first, under the command of sailing master John Dykes, was to deliver "sufficient provisions to serve 350 men to the end of the year 1772"; she sailed from Portsmouth on 8 November 1771, but due to terrible weather did not arrive at Port Egmont (the British base in the Falkland Islands) until 1 March. Endeavour sailed from Port Egmont on 4 May in a three-month non-stop voyage until she anchored at Portsmouth. The second voyage
2530-610: The Māori and can be translated as 'the place of Maru' ( cf. Timaru). The identity of Maru remains open to conjecture. There are some important archaeological sites around Oamaru. Those at the Waitaki River mouth and at Awamoa both date from the Archaic (Moa-hunter) phase of Māori culture , when New Zealand's human population clustered along the south-east coast from about AD 1100. The Waitaki River mouth had at least 1,200 ovens. Awamoa saw
2640-674: The Shag , the Waianakarua , the Kakanui and the Waitaki . The Kakanui Mountains form the principal cordillera, rising at their highest point, Mount Pisgah , to 1,643 metres (5,390 ft). These are separated from the lower, parallel Horse Range by the upper valleys of the Waianakarua and Shag rivers. The large east-coast town of Oamaru serves as North Otago's main centre. Other towns and settlements in
2750-533: The Society Islands . Landfall was made at Huahine, Raiatea and Borabora, providing opportunities for Cook to claim each of them as British territories. An attempt to land the pinnace on the Austral Island of Rurutu was thwarted by rough surf and the rocky shoreline. On 15 August, Endeavour finally turned south to explore the open ocean for Terra Australis Incognita . In October 1769, Endeavour reached
2860-612: The University of York ; and notably former All Blacks rugby union captain Richie McCaw . Fred Allen , an All Black of the 1940s who went on to coach the All Blacks to 14 wins from his 14 tests in the 1960s, was born in Oamaru, though not educated there. Another notable sports person is Gary Robertson , who won gold at the 1972 Olympic Games, Munich, Germany in the NZ Rowing 8. Robertson
2970-721: The boatswain John Gathrey, and the other to Banks. The ship was also equipped with a set of 28 ft (8.5 m) sweeps to allow her to be rowed forward if becalmed or demasted. The refitted vessel was commissioned as His Majesty's Bark the Endeavour , to distinguish her from the four-gun cutter HMS Endeavour . On 21 July 1768, Endeavour sailed to Gallions Reach on the Thames to take on armaments to protect her against potentially hostile Pacific island natives. Ten 4-pounder cannon were brought aboard, six of which were mounted on
3080-452: The "Midwinter Masquerade". Another annual celebration, a Victorian Heritage fête, takes place in November. Other noted former Oamaruvians include broadcaster Jim Mora and hockey player Scott Anderson . David Sewell played one test match for the New Zealand cricket team. Video game designer Dean Hall grew up in Oamaru and attended Waitaki Boys' High School. His interest in mountaineering
3190-525: The 1880s Oamaru was home to an impressive array of buildings and the "best built and most mortgaged town in Australasia". A major factor in the near bankruptcy of the town was the construction of the Oamaru Borough Water Race, an aqueduct completed after three years' work in 1880. This major engineering feat replaced the previous poor water supply, (obtained from the local creek running through
3300-467: The Atlantic. In 1775 Mather submitted Endeavour as a transport ship, being rejected. Thinking that renaming her would fool Deptford Yard, Mather resubmitted Endeavour under the name Lord Sandwich . As Lord Sandwich she was rejected in no uncertain terms: "Unfit for service. She was sold out Service Called Endeavour Bark refused before". Repairs were made, with acceptance in her third submission, under
3410-880: The Australian National Maritime Museum examined some known wrecks in the harbour and in 2000, RIMAP and the ANMM examined a site that appears to be one of the blockade vessels, partly covered by a separate wreck of a 20th-century barge. The older remains were those of a wooden vessel of approximately the same size, and possibly a similar design and materials as Lord Sandwich ex Endeavour . Confirmation that Cook's former ship had indeed been in Newport Harbor sparked public interest in locating her wreck. However, further mapping showed eight other 18th-century wrecks in Newport Harbor, some with features and conditions also consistent with Endeavour . In 2006 RIMAP announced that
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3520-504: The Baltic. Rehired as a British troop transport during the American War of Independence , she was finally scuttled in a blockade of Narragansett Bay , Rhode Island, in 1778. Historical evidence indicates the ship was sunk just north of Goat Island in Newport Harbor, along with four other British transports. Relics from Endeavour are displayed at maritime museums worldwide, including an anchor and six of her cannon. A replica of Endeavour
3630-670: The Cape over the next two days were unsuccessful, and Endeavour was repeatedly driven back by wind, rain and contrary tides. Cook noted that the seas off the Cape were large enough to regularly submerge the bow of the ship as she rode down from the crests of waves. At last, on 16 January the wind eased and the ship was able to pass the Cape and anchor in the Bay of Good Success on the Pacific coast. The crew were sent to collect wood and water, while Banks and his team gathered hundreds of plant specimens from along
3740-666: The French and the Spanish. The government assessed that if British ships and troops were engaged in America, Spain might seize the Falklands, capturing the small garrison at Port Egmont with maybe loss of life – this, it was feared, would trigger an outcry which might topple the government. Endeavour left England in January 1774, sailing from the Falklands with all the British inhabitants on 23 April, leaving
3850-605: The Great Barrier Reef in June. The ship's carpenter, John Seetterly, observed that she was "very leaky – makes from twelve to six inches an hour, occasioned by her main keel being wounded in many places, false keel gone from beyond the midships . Wounded on her larbord side where the greatest leak is but I could not come at it for the water." An inspection of the hull revealed that some unrepaired planks were cut through to within 1 ⁄ 8 inch (3.2 mm). Cook noted it
3960-720: The Middle School. The place and the North Otago landscape made an impression on him. He revisited the area several times as an adult on painting trips. Cartoonist John Kent , who authored the Varoomshka comic strip for The Guardian newspaper in England, hailed from Oamaru. A community of living artists exists, and many dealer galleries have premises in the historic precinct. One of the town's principal living artists, Donna Demente , produces portraits and masks. At least partly through her work Oamaru hosts an annual mask festival each July,
4070-625: The Newport blockade of 1778, including Lord Sandwich. In 1999 RIMAP discovered documents in the Public Record Office (now called the National Archives) in London confirming that Endeavour had been renamed Lord Sandwich , had served as a troop transport to North America, and had been scuttled at Newport as part of the 1778 fleet of transports. In 1999, a combined research team from RIMAP and
4180-561: The Royal Society representatives: naturalist Joseph Banks , Banks' assistants Daniel Solander and Herman Spöring , astronomer Charles Green , and artists Sydney Parkinson and Alexander Buchan . These cabins encircled the officers' mess. The great cabin at the rear of the deck was designed as a workroom for Cook and the Royal Society. On the rear lower deck, cabins facing on to the mates' mess were assigned to lieutenants Zachary Hickes and John Gore , ship's surgeon William Monkhouse,
4290-606: The Waitaki District Libraries syndicate). Oamaru Public Library began life as the Oamaru Athenaeum and Mechanics Institute in 1878, but by 1973, library services had outgrown the building. A new library building was proposed, situated next-door to the 'old' Athenaeum library, and the new library was officially opened by the Mayor, Mr R.D. Allen on 19 September 1975. Oamaru Repertory Theatre is located on Itchen Street and
4400-621: The Waitaki River, but on returning south and failing to reach the wreck before dawn he was turned into a hill in the Shag Valley. Modern academics have suggested this tale is an allegorical explanation of the fact that kūmara will not grow south of Banks Peninsula . On 20 February 1770 James Cook in the Endeavour reached a position very close to the Waitaki mouth and "about 3 Miles [5 km] from
4510-426: The ancient people Kahui Tipua building a canoe, Ārai Te Uru , which sailed from southern New Zealand to the ancestral Polynesian homeland, Hawaiki , to obtain kūmara . On its return it became waterlogged off the Waitaki River mouth, lost food baskets at Moeraki beach and ended up wrecked at Matakaea (Shag Point) where it turned into Danger Reef. After the wreck a crew member, Pahihiwitahi, seeking water, discovered
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4620-477: The annotation may be a transcription error with "19 yards 29 inches" (18.1 m) being the true reading. If so, this would more closely conform with both naval standards and the lengths of the other masts. On 16 February 1768, the Royal Society petitioned King George III to finance a scientific expedition to the Pacific to study and observe the 1769 transit of Venus across the sun. Royal approval
4730-449: The area (see Project Aqua ), and tourism has grown in recent years. HM Bark Endeavour HMS Endeavour was a British Royal Navy research vessel that Lieutenant James Cook commanded to Tahiti , New Zealand and Australia on his first voyage of discovery from 1768 to 1771. She was launched in 1764 as the collier Earl of Pembroke , with the Navy purchasing her in 1768 for
4840-421: The beach, till we approached Oamaru point, where it turned inland, and crossed a low range of hills, from which we looked over an extensive plain … Towards the afternoon, we ascended a range of hills called Pukeuri, separating this plain from another more extensive. The sky was so remarkably clear that, from the highest point of the pathway, Moeraki was distinctly in view..." He made a map and placed Oamaru on it. He
4950-493: The coal and whaling Port of Whitby in the North Riding of Yorkshire . She was a type known locally as the " Whitby Cat ". She was ship-rigged and sturdily built with a broad, flat bow , a square stern and a long, box-like body with a deep hold . A flat-bottomed design made her well-suited to sailing in shallow waters and allowed her to be beached for loading and unloading of cargo and for basic repairs without requiring
5060-512: The coast in the 1830s. The Jason , for example, probably of New London in the United States, Captain Chester, was reported at "Otago Bluff" south of Kakanui, with 2,500 barrels (400 m) of oil, on 1 December 1839. Edward Shortland visited the area in 1844, coming overland from Waikouaiti . On 9 January he recorded "Our path to-day was sometimes along the edge of a low cliff, sometimes along
5170-459: The coast, picking a path through intermittent shoals and reefs with the help of the pinnace, which was rowed ahead to test the water depth. By 26 August she was out of sight of land, and had entered the open waters of the Torres Strait between Australia and New Guinea , earlier navigated by Luis Váez de Torres in 1606. To keep Endeavour ' s voyages and discoveries secret, Cook confiscated
5280-526: The coastline of New Zealand, becoming the first European vessel to do so since Abel Tasman 's Heemskerck in 1642. Unfamiliar with such ships, the Māori people at Cook's first landing point in Poverty Bay thought the ship was a floating island, or a gigantic bird from their mythical homeland of Hawaiki . Endeavour spent the next six months sailing close to shore, while Cook mapped the coastline and concluded that New Zealand comprised two large islands and
5390-562: The details of the Lord Sandwich transport matched those of the former Endeavour including construction in Whitby, a burthen of 368 + 71 ⁄ 94 tons, and re-entry into Navy service on 10 February 1776. In 1834 a letter appeared in the Providence Journal of Rhode Island, drawing attention to the possible presence of the former Endeavour on the seabed of the bay. This
5500-457: The entire crew. Despite this, Banks noted in his journal the calm efficiency of the crew in the face of danger, contrary to stories he had heard of seamen panicking or refusing orders in such circumstances. Midshipman Jonathon Monkhouse proposed fothering the ship, as he had previously been on a merchant ship which used the technique successfully. He was entrusted with supervising the task, sewing bits of oakum and wool into an old sail, which
5610-502: The first New Zealand towns to realise that its built heritage was an asset. A public art museum, the Forrester Gallery (whose first curator in 1882 was Thomas Forrester), opened in 1983 in R.A. Lawson 's neo-classical Bank of New South Wales building. Restoration of other buildings also took place. The Oamaru Whitestone Civic Trust was formed in 1987 with a vision of redeveloping the original commercial and business district of Oamaru's Harbour and Tyne Streets, and work began on restoring
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#17328511476455720-523: The first archaeological excavation in New Zealand when W.B.D. Mantell dug there at Christmas 1847 and in 1852. Smaller Archaic sites exist at Cape Wanbrow and at Beach Road in central Oamaru. The distinctive Archaic art of the Waitaki Valley rock shelters dates from this period — some of it presumably made by the occupants of these sites. The area also features Classic and Protohistoric sites, from after about AD 1500, at Tamahaerewhenua, Tekorotuaheka, Te Punamaru, Papakaio, and Kakanui . Māori tradition tells of
5830-485: The gunner Stephen Forwood, ship's master Robert Molyneux, and the captain's clerk Richard Orton. The adjoining open mess deck provided sleeping and living quarters for the marines and crew, and additional storage space. A longboat , pinnace and yawl were provided as ship's boats, though the longboat was rotten, having to be rebuilt and painted with white lead before it could be brought aboard. These were accompanied by two privately owned skiffs, one belonging to
5940-399: The historic precinct beside the port, perhaps the most atmospheric urban area in New Zealand. By the early 21st century, "heritage" had become a conspicuous industry and today, the number of buildings owned by the Oamaru Whitestone Civic Trust had grown from the original eight to 17. The Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies the climate of Oamaru as oceanic (Cfb). Oamaru
6050-438: The hull scraped free of barnacles. An examination of the hull showed that a piece of coral the size of a man's fist had cleanly sliced through the timbers before breaking off. Surrounded by pieces of oakum from the fother, this coral fragment had helped plug the hole in the hull and preserved the ship from sinking on the reef. After waiting for the wind, Endeavour resumed her voyage on the afternoon of 5 August 1770, reaching
6160-437: The hull where his predecessor had used the top of the cross-beams. The mistake suggested the water depth had increased by about 18 inches (46 cm) between soundings, sending a wave of fear through the ship. As soon as the mistake was realised, redoubled efforts kept the pumps ahead of the leak. The prospects if the ship sank were grim. The vessel was 24 miles (39 km) from shore and the three ship's boats could not carry
6270-410: The hull. Broken timbers were replaced and the hull recaulked, scraped of shellfish and marine flora, and repainted. Finally, the rigging and pumps were renewed and fresh stores brought aboard for the return journey to England. Repairs and replenishment were completed by Christmas Day 1770, and the next day Endeavour weighed anchor and set sail westward towards the Indian Ocean . Though Endeavour
6380-573: The icy shore. On 17 January two of Banks' servants died from cold while attempting to return to the ship during a heavy snowstorm. Endeavour resumed her voyage on 21 January 1769, heading west-northwest into warmer weather. She reached Tahiti on 10 April, where she remained for the next three months. The transit of Venus across the Sun occurred on 3 June, and was observed and recorded by astronomer Charles Green from Endeavour 's deck. The transit observed, Endeavour departed Tahiti on 13 July and headed northwest to allow Cook to survey and name
6490-402: The islands of Huahine , Bora Bora , and Raiatea west of Tahiti to allow Cook to claim them for Great Britain. In September 1769, she anchored off New Zealand, becoming the first European vessel to reach the islands since Abel Tasman 's Heemskerck 127 years earlier. In April 1770, Endeavour became the first European ship to reach the east coast of Australia, with Cook going ashore at what
6600-406: The land, which formed an agreeable view to the naked eye. The hills were of a moderate height, having flats that extended from them a long way, bordered by a perpendicular rocky cliff next to the sea." Māori did live in the area, and sealers visited the coast in 1814. The Creed manuscript , discovered in 2003, records: Some of the [local] people [had been] absent on a feasting expedition to meet
6710-466: The lands that they had visited. From Batavia Endeavour continued westward, rounded the Cape of Good Hope on 13 March 1771 and reached the English port of Dover on 12 July, having been at sea for nearly three years. The ship was largely forgotten after her Pacific voyage, spending the next three years hauling troops and cargo to and from the Falkland Islands . She was renamed in 1775 after being sold into private hands, and used to transport timber from
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#17328511476456820-536: The last South Island district to resume alcohol sales. Development slowed apart from a few years in the 1920s, and in the 1950s, but the population continued to grow until the 1970s. With the closure of the port the local economy began to stall, and New Zealand then went through radical economic restructuring in the mid 1980s – known as " Rogernomics ". North Otago was then hit by two droughts from 1988 to 1989 and again from 1997 to 1999. Oamaru found itself hard hit. In response it started to re-invent itself, becoming one of
6930-535: The log books and journals of all on board and ordered them to remain silent about where they had been. After a three-day layover off the island of Savu , Endeavour sailed on to Batavia , the capital of the Dutch East Indies , on 10 October. A day later lightning during a sudden tropical storm struck the ship, but the rudimentary "electric chain" or lightning rod that Cook had ordered rigged to Endeavour ' s mast saved her from serious damage. The ship remained in very poor condition following her grounding on
7040-453: The loss of a number of vessels off the coast, construction of a breakwater designed by engineer John McGregor started in 1871. The building of this breakwater was influential in the development of new forms of crane . For many years there was a commercial and fishing harbour under Cape Wanbrow at Friendly Bay. With the development of pastoralism and the associated frozen-meat industry having its historical origins in New Zealand just south of
7150-423: The mast plan. While her main and foremast standing spars were standard for her shipyard and era, an annotation on one surviving ship plan in the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich has the mizzen as "16 yards 29 inches" (15.4 m). If correct, this would produce an oddly truncated mast a full 9 feet (2.7 m) shorter than the naval standards of the day. Late twentieth-century research suggests
7260-415: The name Lord Sandwich 2 as there was already a transport ship called Lord Sandwich . Lord Sandwich 2, master William Author, sailed on 6 May 1776 from Portsmouth in a fleet of 100 vessels, 68 of which were transports, which was under orders to support Howe's campaign to capture New York. Lord Sandwich 2 carried 206 men mainly from the Hessian du Corps regiment of Hessian mercenaries . The crossing
7370-454: The north of Oamaru is the substantial Alliance Abattoir at Pukeuri , at a major junction with State Highway 83 , the main route into the Waitaki Valley . This provides a road link to Kurow, Omarama , Otematata and via the Lindis Pass to Queenstown and Wānaka. Oamaru serves as the eastern gateway to the Mackenzie Basin , via the Waitaki Valley. Oamaru has been built between the rolling hills of limestone and short stretch of flat land to
7480-408: The northernmost point of Cape York Peninsula fifteen days later. On 22 August, Cook was rowed ashore to a small coastal island to proclaim British sovereignty over the eastern Australian mainland. Cook christened his landing place Possession Island , and ceremonial volleys of gunfire from the shore and Endeavour ' s deck marked the occasion. Endeavour then resumed her voyage westward along
7590-407: The opening of a stone gateway to Milner Park, Oamaru. E.A. Gifford (1819–1894), an artist and Royal Academician , lived in Oamaru from 1877 to 1885 and from 1892 until his death. A genre, portrait and landscape painter he established a national reputation. His Auckland from the Wharf of 1887 is probably the best-known image of 19th-century Auckland. Emily Gillies , a 19th-century Oamaru artist,
7700-408: The place as a town in 1859, and the Otago Provincial government declared "hundreds" there on 30 November 1860. The town grew as a service-centre for the agricultural/pastoral hinterland between the Kakanui Mountains and the Waitaki River , and rapidly became a major port. A boost was given by public works, including harbour development, and an export trade in wool and grain from the 1860s. Following
7810-403: The region include Alma , Totara, Teschemakers, Reidston, Maheno , Kakanui , Herbert (also known as Otepopo ), Waianakarua , Hampden , and Moeraki , all on or close to the coast south of Oamaru. The coastal plain north of Oamaru has the settlements of Hilderthorpe and Pukeuri. Inland settlements include Weston , Ardgowan , Windsor , Five Forks, Peebles, Papakaio, Duntroon , Kurow (on
7920-432: The sea. This limestone rock is used for the construction of local " Oamaru stone ", sometimes called "Whitestone" buildings. Oamaru enjoys a protected location in the shelter of Cape Wanbrow . The town was laid out in 1858 by Otago's provincial surveyor John Turnbull Thomson , who named the early streets after British rivers, particularly rivers in the northwest and southeast of the country. The name Oamaru derives from
8030-557: The seven escaped through the darkness of the night & fled as far as Goodwood, Bobby's Head, after being 2 days and nights on the way. Pukuheke's party killed and ate these as well. The Pākehā, a party from the Matilda (Captain Fowler), under the first mate Robert Brown with two other Europeans and five lascars or Indian seamen, made eight in all, not seven as the manuscript says. They had been sent in an open boat from Stewart Island in search of
8140-405: The ship free. In the afternoon of 12 June, the longboat carried out two large bower anchors, and block and tackle were rigged to the anchor chains to allow another attempt on the evening high tide. The ship had started to take on water through a hole in her hull. Although the leak would certainly increase once off the reef, Cook decided to risk the attempt and at 10:20 pm the ship was floated on
8250-419: The ship's boats on the southern shore of what is now known as Botany Bay , New South Wales . For the next four months, Cook charted the coast of Australia, heading generally northward. Just before 11:00 pm on 11 June 1770, the ship struck a reef, today called Endeavour Reef , within the Great Barrier Reef system. The sails were immediately taken down, a kedging anchor set and an unsuccessful attempt
8360-413: The ship's drinking water pumped out. The crew attached buoys to the discarded guns with the intention of retrieving them later, but this proved impractical. Every man on board took turns on the pumps, including Cook and Banks. When, by Cook's reckoning, about 40 to 50 long tons (41 to 51 t) of equipment had been thrown overboard, on the next high tide a second unsuccessful attempt was made to pull
8470-499: The ship's surgeon William Monkhouse. Cook attributed the sickness to polluted drinking water, and ordered that it be purified with lime juice, but this had little effect. Jonathan Monkhouse, who had proposed fothering the ship to save her from sinking on the reef, died on 6 February, followed six days later by ship's carpenter John Seetterly, whose skilled repair work in Batavia had allowed Endeavour to resume her voyage. The health of
8580-552: The shore", according to his journal. He said the land "here is very low and flat and continues so up to the skirts of the Hills which are at least 4 or 5 Miles [6–8 km] in land. The whole face of the Country appears barren, nor did we see any signs of inhabitants." He stayed on this part of the coast four days. Sydney Parkinson, the expedition's artist, described what seems to be Cape Wanbrow, in Oamaru. On 20 February he wrote "...we were near
8690-494: The sick were brought back on board along with ten recruits from Cape Town, and Endeavour resumed her homeward voyage. The English mainland was sighted on 10 July and Endeavour entered the port of Dover two days later. Approximately one month after his return, Cook was promoted to the rank of commander , and by November 1771 was in receipt of Admiralty Orders for a second expedition , this time aboard HMS Resolution . During his third voyage (second on Resolution ), Cook
8800-516: The south bank of the Waitaki), Omarama , and Otematata . The area aspired to provincial status in the 19th century, but never attained this. Most of its territory belonged to the Waitaki County, and today is officially part of the Waitaki District . Some sense of regional identity survives in support of sport, notably the North Otago rugby team. In 1989, the northwestern part of the area, including
8910-472: The southern part of Oamaru's main commercial district ranks as one of New Zealand's most impressive streetscapes due to the many prominent 19th century buildings constructed from this material. Several key historic buildings in the area centred around Harbour Street and the lower Thames Street, Itchen Street, and Tyne Street area have been preserved by the Oamaru Whitestone Civic Trust as part of
9020-494: The surviving crew members then slowly improved as the month progressed, with the last deaths from disease being three ordinary seamen on 27 February. On 13 March 1771, Endeavour rounded the Cape of Good Hope and made port in Cape Town two days later. Those still sick were taken ashore for treatment. The ship remained in port for four weeks awaiting the recovery of the crew and undergoing minor repairs to her masts. On 15 April,
9130-415: The tide and successfully drawn off. The anchors were retrieved, except for one which could not be freed from the seabed and had to be abandoned. As expected the leak increased once the ship was off the reef, and all three working pumps had to be continually manned. A mistake occurred in sounding the depth of water in the hold, when a new man measured the length of a sounding line from the outside plank of
9240-463: The town at Totara, Oamaru flourished. Institutions such as the Athenaeum, Chief Post Office and Waitaki Boys' and Waitaki Girls' High Schools sprang up. The locally plentiful limestone ( Oamaru stone ) lent itself to carving and good designers, such as John Lemon (1828–1890), Thomas Forrester (1838–1907) and his son J.M. Forrester (1865–1965), and craftsmen utilised it. By the time of the depression of
9350-454: The town) with abundant pure water (and energy for industrial machinery driven by water motors ) from the Waitaki river and conducted water in an open channel for almost 50 km through hilly farmland from Kurow to the Oamaru reservoir at Ardgowan, until it was decommissioned and abandoned in 1983. Today much of the former infrastructure is still intact and can still be traced. The district went "dry" in 1906, and stayed that way until 1960 –
9460-617: The town, reflect Oamaru conditions and Oamaruvians. Other literary associations include those with Owen Marshall , Greg McGee and Fiona Farrell Poole . Other notable people born and educated in Oamaru include Des Wilson , founder of the UK homelessness charity, Shelter ; Australian Prime Minister Chris Watson ; New Zealand politicians Arnold Nordmeyer and William Steward ; Cardinal Thomas Stafford Williams ; Sir Malcolm Grant , former president and Provost of University College London and subsequently Chairman of NHS England and Chancellor of
9570-483: The towns of Omarama, Otematata, Kurow, and Duntroon officially became part of Canterbury region, testing this sense of identity and raising the ire of many locals. The rolling, tussock -clad hill country of North Otago provides the important agricultural base, originally through sheep-farming but now largely superseded by dairy. The generation of hydro-electricity in the Waitaki Valley has also drawn attention to
9680-528: The upper deck with the remainder stowed in the hold. Twelve swivel guns were also supplied, and fixed to posts along the quarterdeck, sides and bow. The ship departed for Plymouth on 30 July, for provisioning and crew boarding of 85, including 12 Royal Marines . Cook also ordered that twelve tons of pig iron be brought on board as sailing ballast . Endeavour departed Plymouth on 26 August 1768, carrying 18 months of provisions for 94 people. Livestock on board included pigs, poultry, two greyhounds and
9790-566: Was 15.7, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 45.4% had no religion, 43.6% were Christian , 0.2% had Māori religious beliefs , 0.6% were Hindu , 0.4% were Muslim , 0.4% were Buddhist and 1.6% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 1,242 (11.5%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 3,021 (28.0%) people had no formal qualifications. 1,017 people (9.4%) earned over $ 70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15
9900-492: Was HMS Siren , captained by Tobias Furneaux, who had commanded Adventure on Cook's second voyage. New York was eventually captured, but Newport, Rhode Island , remained in the hands of the Americans and posed a threat as a base for recapturing New York, so in November 1776 a fleet, which included Lord Sandwich 2 carrying Hessian troops, set out to take Rhode Island . The island was taken but not subdued, and Lord Sandwich 2
10010-400: Was a "surprise to every one who saw her bottom how we had kept her above water" for the previous three-month voyage across open seas. After riding at anchor for two weeks, Endeavour was heaved out of the water on 9 November and laid on her side for repairs. Some damaged timbers were found to be infested with shipworms , which required careful removal to ensure they did not spread throughout
10120-525: Was broken when the Admiralty proposed James Cook , a naval officer with a background in mathematics and cartography . Acceptable to both parties, Cook was promoted to lieutenant and named as commander of the expedition. On 27 May 1768, Cook took command of Earl of Pembroke , valued in March at £2,307. 5s. 6d. but ultimately purchased for £2,840. 10s. 11d. and assigned for use in the Society's expedition. She
10230-529: Was fostered while on a geography field trip while studying there, ultimately culminating in him summiting Mount Everest in May 2013. Oamaru contains over 70 buildings registered as Category 1 or 2 Historic Places in the Heritage New Zealand register. Many public buildings use as their construction material the local limestone (quarried especially near Weston) known as Oamaru stone . The Victorian precinct in
10340-450: Was granted for the expedition, and the Admiralty elected to combine the scientific voyage with a confidential mission to search the south Pacific for signs of the postulated continent Terra Australis Incognita (or "unknown southern land"). The Royal Society suggested command be given to Scottish geographer Alexander Dalrymple , whose acceptance was conditional on a brevet commission as
10450-402: Was killed during his attempted kidnapping of the ruling chief of Hawaii at Kealakekua Bay on 14 February 1779. While Cook was fêted for his successful voyage, Endeavour was largely forgotten. Within a week of her return to England, she was directed to Woolwich Dockyard for refitting as a naval transport. Under the command of Lieutenant James Gordon she then made three return voyages to
10560-633: Was launched in 1994 and is berthed alongside the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney Harbour. Multiple geographic features are named after the ship, including the Endeavour River and Endeavour Reef , as were three spacecraft . The ship is depicted on the New Zealand fifty-cent coin . Endeavour was originally the merchant collier Earl of Pembroke , built by Thomas Fishburn for Thomas Millner, launched in June 1764 from
10670-413: Was made to drag the ship back to open water. The reef Endeavour had struck rose so steeply from the seabed that although the ship was hard aground, Cook measured depths up to 70 feet (21 m) less than one ship's length away. Cook then ordered that the ship be lightened to help her float off the reef. Iron and stone ballast, spoiled stores and all but four of the ship's guns were thrown overboard, and
10780-582: Was needed as a prison ship . The surrender of British General John Burgoyne 's army at Saratoga brought France into the war, and in the summer of 1778 a pincer plan was agreed to recapture Newport : the Continental Army would approach overland, and a French fleet would sail into the harbour. To prevent the latter the British commander, Captain John Brisbane, determined to blockade the bay by sinking surplus vessels at its mouth. Between 3 and 6 August
10890-417: Was not the hoped-for Terra Australis . In March 1770, the longboat from Endeavour carried Cook ashore to allow him to formally proclaim British sovereignty over New Zealand. On his return, Endeavour resumed her voyage westward, her crew sighting the east coast of Australia on 19 April. On 29 April, she became the first European vessel to make landfall on the east coast of Australia, when Cook landed one of
11000-436: Was now in good condition, her crew were not. During the ship's stay in Batavia, all but 10 of the 94 people aboard had been taken ill with malaria and dysentery . By the time Endeavour set sail on 26 December, seven crew members had died and another forty were too sick to attend their duties. Over the following twelve weeks, a further 23 died from disease and were buried at sea, including Spöring, Green, Parkinson, and
11110-473: Was one of several Europeans who passed through the area on foot in the 1840s. James Saunders became the first European resident of the district some time before 1850 when he settled to trade among the Māori of the Waitaki River mouth. More European settlers arrived in the Oamaru area in the 1850s. Hugh Robison built and lived in a sod hut by Oamaru Creek in 1853 while establishing his sheep run . J.T. Thomson surveyed
11220-440: Was refitted at Deptford by the dock's master shipwright Adam Hayes on the River Thames for the sum of £2,294, almost the price of the ship herself. The hull was recaulked and copper sheathed to protect against shipworm , and a third internal deck installed to provide cabins, a powder magazine and storerooms. The new cabins provided around 2 square metres (22 sq ft) of floorspace apiece being allocated to Cook and
11330-505: Was released. To replace him, Cook pressed a sailor from an American sloop anchored nearby. Endeavour then continued south along the coast of Africa and across the Atlantic to South America, arriving in Rio de Janeiro on 13 November 1768. Fresh food and water were brought aboard and the ship departed for Cape Horn , which she reached during stormy weather on 13 January 1769. Attempts to round
11440-432: Was stormy, with two Hessians who were in the same fleet making accounts of the voyage. The scattered fleet assembled at Halifax then sailed to Sandy Hook where other ships and troops assembled. On 15 August 1776 Lord Sandwich 2 was anchored at Sandy Hook; also assembled there was Adventure , which had sailed with Resolution on Cook's second voyage, now a storeship, captained by John Hallum. Another ship there at that time
11550-507: Was swiftly disputed by the British consul in Rhode Island, who wrote claiming that Endeavour had been bought from Mather by the French in 1790 and renamed Liberté . The consul later admitted he had heard this not from the Admiralty, but as hearsay from the former owners of the French ship. It was later suggested Liberté , which sank off Newport in 1793, was in fact another of Cook's ships, the former HMS Resolution , or another Endeavour ,
11660-483: Was that 4,668 (43.3%) people were employed full-time, 1,545 (14.3%) were part-time, and 312 (2.9%) were unemployed. The mayor of Waitaki District is Gary Kircher. Oamaru is part of the parliamentary electorate of Waitaki , and since 2023 has been represented by Miles Anderson of the New Zealand National Party . The beautiful Oamaru Opera House on Thames Street, officially opened on 7 October 1907,
11770-552: Was the daughter of C.H. Street, maternal niece of Edward Lear (1812–1888), the English watercolourist and writer of humorous verse. Lear's sister had virtually brought her brother up. When he died childless before her she inherited his collection. The internationally-significant group of works came to North Otago, where it remained intact until the early 1970s. The artist Colin McCahon (1919–1987) lived in Oamaru from 1930 to 1931, attending
11880-406: Was then drawn under the ship to allow water pressure to force it into the hole in the hull. The effort succeeded and soon very little water was entering, allowing the crew to stop two of the three pumps. Endeavour then resumed her course northward and parallel to the reef, the crew looking for a safe harbour in which to make repairs. On 13 June, the ship came to a broad watercourse that Cook named
11990-481: Was to reassemble Penguin on arrival, which was 28 January 1773. On 17 April Endeavour and Hound sailed for England with their crew. One of Penguin 's crew was Bernard Penrose who wrote an account. Samuel Clayton also wrote an account. The third voyage sailed in January 1774 with her purpose to evacuate the Falklands entirely as Britain was faced with political difficulties from the American Colonies,
12100-480: Was to reduce the garrison and replace HM Sloop Hound , John Burr Commander, with a smaller vessel, namely the 36-ton shallop Penguin , commander Samuel Clayton. She was a collapsible vessel and was no sooner built than taken apart, and the pieces were stowed in Endeavour . Endeavour sailed in November with Hugh Kirkland as the sailing master, and additionally the crew of Penguin , and four ship's carpenters whose job
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