Captain Cook Relics.

Speaking of the Captain Cook relics which have been secured for the New South Wales Government, our London correspondent says, writing on September 9:—”Sir Saul Samuel has secured for the New South Wales Government the whole of the interesting collection of Captain Cook’s relics which were on view at the late Colonial and Indian Exhibition. Some of them he has had to purchase, others have been presented as gift. Your…

(Sydney Mail, 10/22/1887, p. 868)

The Sydney Mail, Volume XLIV, Number 1424, Page 868. October 22, 1887.

…Agent-General has also obtained conclusive evidence in each case that the relics were the genuine property of Captain Cook. Many of them have been in the possession of the captain’s family ever since his death, while others, whose authenticity is well vouched for, have been brought from the Pacific. Amongst the latter are a number of clasp knives and weapons of different descriptions, cooking utensils, and various objects of local interest, such as a feather cloak, which was thrown over Captain Cook’s shoulders by King Kalaniopuu, of Hawaii, on January 26, 1779, when Cook was at the height of royal favour, and believed to be a divinity, and a feather helmet. There is also Cook’s dress sword or hanger, his Court shoe buckles, and a waistcoat of Tahiti cloth, embroidered by his wife, in which it was hoped he would make a visit to Court if he returned from his last voyage. The collection further includes some New Zealand ear ornaments, which were presented to the captain by a Maori chief, the Bible with which he was accustomed to conduct Divine service during his three voyages, his autograph account of the transit of Venus, an oriental box which was the first present he made to his wife, a piece of the rock upon which he was killed, and an arrow which is said to have been partly made from the small bone of his leg.

[This comes from a newspaper from Sydney, Australia, found on the National Library of Australia webside, TROVE.]

(Sydney Mail, 10/22/1887, p. 869)

The Sydney Mail, Volume XLIV, Number 1424, Page 869. October 22, 1887.