The HMS Endeavour, made famous for her voyage of discovery to Australia, was originally built as a collier or bulk ship. Launched in 1764, from the port of Whitby, and named Earl of Pembroke, she was later purchased by the British Royal Navy in 1768 for scientific exploration. 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.

This was only the beginning of Endeavour's three years at sea. Captain James Cook had been given sealed orders to be opened once the celestial observations were made.

His orders were to search for and lay claim to any previously undiscovered lands and "Terra Australis Incognita" or the Unknown land of the South. On 29 April 1770, she became the first European vessel to make landfall on the east coast of Australia, when Cook landed one of the ship's boats on the southern shore of what is now known as Botany Bay, New South Wales. Despite meeting indigenous people, Captain Cook claimed the land for the crown.

Cook spent the next four months traveling up the east coast of Australia charting the coast. She eventually made it back to Britain in July 1771.

Despite the success of the voyage, Endeavour was largely forgotten upon her return. Within a week of docking at Dover in 1771 she was sent for a refit to become a naval transport. She was sold off in 1775 but rented back to the British navy once the American war of Independence broke out. It was in this capacity the ship met her fate. In 1778, in an effort to blockade Newport Harbour, ships were ordered to be scuttled including The Endeavour, now called Lord Sandwich. It was only in 1999 that it was confirmed that this is the likely final resting place of the Endeavour.

This model ship is entirely handmade by skilled and experienced craftsmen, using the plank on frame construction method. No kits are used in the making of this model. The anchors, guns, decorations, and other intricate details are fashioned from metal and timber. The Sails are hand sown. High-quality wood such as rosewood, ebony, black wood and mahogany wood are used in the construction.

To protect the ship from damage during transport we remove the sails. When you receive your ship, simply insert the masts and watch your ship come to life.

Dimensions:

70cm Long

18cm Wide

52cm Tall