The museum is located at the southern end
of Adventure Bay, on the main road close to the Captain
Cook Creek. The museum has a comprehensive
selection of artefacts and documents relating to Pacific
exploration. Also in the museum are a selection of
articles and maps etc related to other explorers
including Captain Cook. On the left hand
side of the page is an image of a very famous artifact:
a tree trunk on which was carved "Cook 1777".
The museum also has a section related to native peoples
of the pacific area, including one very famous native
of Bruny Island called Trugannini (pictured left)
VICE ADMIRAL WILLIAM BLIGH
William Bligh was born at Tinten Manor
St. Tudy on September 9th 1754 and first went
to sea in 1762, at the age of 9 as a Captain’s personal
servant on board HMS Monmouth. He became a Midshipman
in 1771 serving on HMS Crescent and HMS Ranger. He
was an intelligent man, well-versed in science and
mathematics and was also a talented writer and
illustrator. At the age of 22 he was appointed Sailing
Master on the Resolution and visited Adventure Bay with
Cook in 1777.
In 1787 aged 33, he was given command of
‘The Bounty’ with a commission to transport breadfruit
from Tahiti to the West Indies and set sail on December
23rd 1787.
In April 1789, following a further visit
to Adventure Bay, the famous mutiny took place, led by
Bligh’s one-time friend, Fletcher Christian.
Bligh and 18 other crew members loyal to him were set
adrift on April 28th in the Bounty’s launch,
an open boat, 23-foot long by 6’9” wide. In most cases
such an act would have led to certain death for the men
aboard, but Bligh was a magnificent seaman and he sailed
from Tofua to Timor, Java, without any loss of life.
The journey of 3618 nautical miles took them 47 days.
Bligh eventually
returned to England and his career in the Navy
continued, seemingly unaffected by the mutiny. In 1790
he became Captain of the sloop HMS Falcon, followed by
service on HMS Medea and HMS Providence. In 1792 he
again visited Tahiti and successfully transported
breadfruit to the West Indies.
Following the
battle of Copenhagen in 1801 he was commended for his
bravery by Admiral Nelson and elected a fellow of the
Royal Society, in consideration of his distinguished
services in navigation, botany etc.
In 1805, Bligh was
sent to New South Wales as Governor, but once again his
oppressive manner contributed to an uprising, in Sydney
in 1808 – the Rum Rebellion - he had attempted to end
the use of rum as a form of currency. The rebellion was
led by one John Macarthur, who became a leader of
settlers in New South Wales. The British soldiers
mutinied and Bligh was forcibly deposed by Major George
Johnston of the 102nd foot and imprisoned for
two years. On his release he returned to England where
he was cleared of all blame and Major Johnston was tried
at Chelsea Hospital in 1811 and cashiered. Bligh was
promoted to Rear Admiral of the Blue and in 1814 became
a Vice Admiral of the Blue.
(This information
has been gleaned from several internet sources –
particularly a compilation by Sue Dibble May 2001) |
