This ghostly specimen can be found behind Banks’ cabin. What is it? (We like it a lotl)

Did you know what last week’s object of the week was?

1:60 scale model of HMB Endeavour

Well done if you recognised our model of HMB Endeavour, the famous ship commanded by Captain Cook (who was a Lieutenant at the time) that was the first European vessel to discover Australia. Our model was specially made for us by Norman Paulding, who presented it to the museum in October 2005. It took him 420 hours to make!

The actual ship was originally named The Earl of Pembroke and was bought by the Admiralty in 1768 to be converted into a vessel for scientific exploration. A new deck was fitted with extra cabins, one of which was occupied by a young Joseph Banks. In August that year it set sail for Tahiti to observe the transit of Venus across the Sun. 

Research vessels like the Endeavour were small in size compared to other Navy ships. One of the benefits being that they can be hauled out of the water by the crew if any repairs are needed (no breakdown recovery service was available). This came in handy when the Endeavour was badly damaged on the Great Barrier Reef.