About the Journal

On 28 August 1769, Captain James Cook set sail from Plymouth Harbour, England in the ship HMS Endeavour Bark on his first expedition to the South Pacific Ocean. As a captain, he was given a logbook to record the navigations and operations of the expedition. He used his captain's logbook as a personal journal, writing creatively about what he was observing. Writing was still not standardised at this time, and you can hear Cook’s Yorkshire accent in his writing.

The Journal covers topics such as astronomy, nutrition at sea, problems of mapping and navigation, details of natural history, and the temperaments of the crew. The Journal also provides a rare, firsthand account of some of the earliest interactions between First Nations peoples and Europeans in Australia.

Our MS 1 Endeavour Journal 1768-1771 is properly referred to as the Holograph Copy as there are  4 different 'original' copies of the Journal. The Holograph Copy has been digistised and is available to view online. 

A copy of the Journal was written up by Cook’s clerk Richard Orton upon the return to Britain to be deposited with the British Admiralty as the official record of the voyage and is known as the Admiralty Copy. The Admiralty Copy is held currently by the UK National Archives and is what the facsimiles in the Main Reading Room are taken from.

There is also a copy of the Journal written by an anonymous author which is held at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, England.

On 21 March 1923 the Australian government purchased the Endeavour Journal for £5000 for the Commonwealth Parliamentary Library. Upon arrival in Australia the Journal was exhibited in Queens Hall, Melbourne, for a month after which it was taken to the Mitchell Library in Sydney. The Mitchell Library held the Journal for four years before it was moved to the National Library in Canberra. 

The Journal became inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World International Register list in 2001.  

How to access the Journal

After many years on display, the Endeavour Journal has returned to secure storage where it can rest, with its covers closed, in the dark. This process is essential to support its long-term preservation for future generations. If you’d like to explore the Journal in more detail, you can:  

• View the digitised copy, which is available online via Trove; 
• View a facsimile copy  in the Main Reading Room reference collection (this is open access and available to view without a request);  
• Make a request to view one of the other facsimile copies in our collections in the reading rooms; or 
• Request to view the microfilm copy of the original manuscript in the Newspapers and Family History zone. 

Get help with your research  

Our librarians can help you start your research, locate resources and use our microfilm and scanning equipment. Whilst we are not able to undertake extensive family history research on your behalf, we can offer advice, help you locate resources and point you in the right direction.

Find out more in our Information and research services policy.