Resolution Place

New Plymouth's Resolution Place takes its name from Captain James Cook's favourite ship, HMS Resolution.

Cook called her "the ship of my choice", and "the fittest for service of any I have seen."  In 1773 Resolution became the first ship to cross the Antarctic Circle, and crossed the Arctic Circle on a subsequent voyage.

While his 1768-1771 Endeavour voyage showed there was no southern continent, the British government wanted to ensure no land masses were left undiscovered. Resolution and Adventure were Whitby colliers similar to, but smaller than HMS Endeavour, and were purchased by the Royal Navy to explore the Pacific.

Resolution was fitted with advanced navigational aids, including a Gregory Azimuth compass, a chronometer, ice anchors, apparatus for distilling fresh water from sea water, as well as 24 guns.

Naturalist Joseph Banks and an entourage were to sail with Cook, so a heightened waist and two decks were added to Resolution. When sea trials showed she was top-heavy, the new structures were removed and Banks refused to travel. Johann Reinhold Forster and his son, George, replaced him. 

HMS Resolution and HMS Adventure set sail from Plymouth on 13 July 1772. Cook had been promoted to Commander and captained HMS Resolution, while Lieutenant Tobias Furneaux commanded HMS Adventure.

On 17 January 1773, she became the first ship to cross the Antarctic Circle. Her third crossing, on 3 February 1774, the most southerly penetration, reached 71°10′ south 106°54′ west, proving Alexander Dalrymple's Terra Australis Incognita (the great southern continent) was a myth.

HMS Resolution was re-commissioned in February 1776 for Cook's third voyage, crossing the Arctic Circle on August 17 1778 and July 19 1779, and arriving back in Britain in October 1780. 

This story was originally published in the Taranaki Daily News.