Remembering

 

250 years to the day, the HMS Endeavour sailed down the coastline of Rurutu, but finding the anchorage poor, the pass and sea conditions dangerous and the inhabitants fierce, they did not actually go ashore.

They were, however, impressed by the wood carving on the canoes they saw as well as the patterned and dyed tapa. After some brief trading from the boat they continued on New Zealand bound... Like the fleet of voyaging canoes that will be descending on New Zealand, including the Fa'afaite (our Tahitian voyaging canoe), as part of the encounter commemorations there (Tuia 250) starting in October.

Here Cook remains a little known personality and the encounter has not marked the population in

the same way as the arrival of Protestant missionnaries in 1821, for example. However, it has been marked by a small exhibition of first day covers at the post office organized by our friend Alain! We even got some commemorative stamps.