COOK ISLANDS

Face value � 1 cent
Metal � aluminum
Mintage � *** pieces
In circulation since 2003

Captain James Cook 

Captain James Cook, R.N., F.R.S., hailed from humble beginnings.
Life began in a simple thatched cottage in North Yorkshire, England on 27 October, 1728. In April 1746, James became an apprentice to John Walker, a Whitby ship owner. On the eve of obtaining command of a collier, he left the merchant service to join the Royal Navy.
As a natural navigator and leader, he rose rapidly through the ranks. In those days, rarely were sons of the working class considered for promotion. His voyage to Canadian waters was to alter that philosophy. Between 1763 - 1767, Cook's surveys of the St Lawrence Channel, and the coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador, clearly demonstrated his skill for command and exploration. He was promoted to lieutenant and began preparations for his voyage of discovery aboard the Endeavour. In the following 3 years, Cook observed and recorded the transit of Venus at Tahiti, charted the coast of New Zealand, the east coast of Australia and part of the southern coast of New Guinea.
The voyage through the Great Barrier Reef was challenging and dangerous. In June 1770, the Endeavour grounded on an uncharted reef. Cook beached the ship in the sheltered waters of what he later named the Endeavour River. Seven weeks later he and his crew continued their northward course.
Cook embarked on the second voyage with two ships, the Resolution and the Adventure in 1772. Returning to the Pacific region, he skirted the Antarctic ice fields, visited Tahiti and the New Hebrides and discovered and charted New Caledonia. The Resolution was to be Captain James Cook's final commission. He was charged with discovering a new trading route to the East Indies via the top of North America.
It was on this fateful mission, at a provisioning stop in Hawaii, that he was slain by natives, on 14 February 1779. His remains were returned to the crew and he was buried in the waters of Kealakekun Bay.
Cook embraced the pioneering spirit wholeheartedly. He dedicated his life and career to exploration and the expansion of scientific and geographic knowledge.