[A War Canoe of New Zealand with a view of Gable End Foreland.]

Parkinson’s famous image of a Maori war canoe made on Cook’s first voyage. It Depicts an ornately carved canoe with high stern on the right with figures wearing feathers in their hair.

‘During this time they brandish their spears, hack the air with their patoos and shake their darts as if they meant every moment to begin the attack, singing all the time in a wild but not disagreeable manner and ending every strain with a loud and deep fetchd sigh in which they all join in concert. The whole is accompanied by strokes struck against the sides of the Boats & with their feet, Paddles and arms, the whole in such excellent time that tho the crews of several Canoes join in concert you rarely or never hear a single stroke wrongly placd. (Banks Journal II, 29, March 1770.)  

Cook and his crew encountered many waka (canoe) during their time in New Zealand’s waters. Parkinson seeks to convey the carving of the canoes, the dress, adornment and weaponry of their occupants, as well as relating the spirited manner in which they engaged the Endeavour’s crew. He wrote of one such encounter, “they behaved in a very irresolute manner, sometimes seeming as if they would attack us; then taking fright, and retreating a little;…shaking their lances and bone bludgeons at us, talking very loud and blustering, lolling out their tongues, and making other signs of defiance”. From the safety of the Endeavour the crew were unsure how to interpret these actions, Parkinson went as far as describing them as “a truly comic act”. Back in England, artist John James Barralet used Parkinson’s pen and ink sketch to develop a watercolour which became the basis for the engraving. In doing this he made several significant changes. Where Parkinson’s canoe held 25 people, Barralet’s waka holds 55. He has also set the canoe within a bay, complete with other waka in the distance, and slightly altered the perspective to give a greater feeling of distance between the viewer and the craft. Barralet otherwise remained faithful to the original, particularly the canoe form and its carving, and the attire and weaponry of its occupants. It is a rare example of a print in which the detail has not been lost or otherwise transformed through translation. Auckland Art Gallery 

Reference, Joppien, 1.142B ill.p.201

From Hawkesworth, An Account of the Voyages Undertaken by the Order of His Present Majesty for Making Discoveries in the Southern Hemisphere,..

Collections:
Auckland Art Gallery: Accession no2009/15
National Gallery Australia: NGA 2013.4129.9.20
National Library Australia: Rex Nan Kivell Collection ; NK2140/B.
National Library Wellington: RefC-061-001-b
Royal Museum Greenwich: PAJ2143
State Library NSW: Q78/10