Otago

This engraving, after a drawing by artist William Hodges, is in John Hawkesworth's account (1773) of the voyages of Captain James Cook, Joseph Banks and Captain John Byron.

Otago is a Southern region of New Zealand in the South Pacific (now Tonga). Captain James Cook (1728-1779) made three separate voyages to the Pacific (with the ships Endeavour, Resolution, Adventure, and Discovery) and did more than any other voyager to explore the Pacific and Southern Ocean. Cook not only encountered Pacific cultures for the first time, but also assembled the first large-scale collections of Pacific objects to be brought back to Europe. He was killed in Hawaii in 1779.

William Hodges (1744 - 1797) joined Cook's second expedition to the South Pacific as a draughtsman 1772-75 and was employed by the Admiralty in finishing his drawings. Two portraits from his time in Tonga, both in red chalk, are known. This portrait is of Otago (Ataongo) son of one of the leading chieftains of Tonga, and who was a constant companion of Cook during his visit to the island.

This is the second of two such engravings.
Mounted in album with PAI3938-PAI4042, PAI4044-PAI4076.; Page 93.; Plate No. XL.

Object Details

ID: PAI4043
Type: Print
Display location: Not on display
Creator: Cadell, Thomas; Sherwin, John Keyse Strahan, William
Places: Otago Region
Date made: 1 Feb 1777
Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London
Measurements: Sheet: 309 x 245 mm
Parts: Atlas to Cook's Voyages Vol I 1773-1777. (Illustrations are from Hawkesworth's 'Voyages to the Southern Hemisphere', all volumes, and Cook [ed. Douglas] 'A Voyage towards the South Pole... ' [1773-75], page 70 onwards) (Album)