Endeavour

"This illustrated book gives an account of life on board the Endeavour and its epic journey into the unknown between 1768 and 1771. The true purpose of this journey was to discover Terra Australis. However, the British government, who wished to keep this a secret from other nations, claimed it was merely a scientific expedition to observe the transit of the planet Venus across the Sun." "Not only did the voyage result in the mapping of New Zealand, the east coast of Australia and the observation of the transit of Venus, but there was a wealth of other astronomical, navigational, zoological, botanical and anthropological discoveries."--BOOK JACKET.