First contacts
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The Trial of the Cannibal Dog: Captain Cook in the South Seas.
written by Dame Anne Salmond of the University of Auckland, is a spectacular re-creation of three of the greatest and most startling of all human journeys.The Pacific voyages of James Cook sailed across perilous tropical seas, survived hurricanes, discovered unknown lands and peoples and made their Captain an icon of imperial history. Yet the story of these epic journeys is far more than one of conquest and control as Cook and his crew are changed as much by what happens as the islanders they meet. Filled with astonishing descriptions drawing on surviving accounts of New Zealand, Tahiti and more, this book reimagines two worlds that explosively collided in the 18th Century and explains the lasting impact of that collision.
 A Conversation with Dame Anne Salmond.
These 16 short videos were recorded at the University of Auckland with host Bernice Mene. Dame Anne is asked a series of questions about her writing of the book and her views on Cook, Tupaia and the lasting impact of this extraordinary voyage of First Contact with NZ Maori. The students are Taiasha Opai, Debbie Savage and Brian Teremoana from Aorere College in Manurewa, Suds Singh and Nicola Best from Rangitoto College and the Genesis Summer Science School.
 Excerpts from chapters 2-8 from The Trial of the Cannibal Dog.
Permission to post these excerpts on this website thanks to Dame Anne Salmond and publisher Penguin Books.
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Pacific Dreaming
To 18th-century Europeans, accustomed to bleak weather, overcrowded cities, soul-destroying work and impoverished diets, Polynesia sounded like Paradise. A benign climate, food in abundance, a life of pleasure and ease-such was the popular notion-and European painters imposed no restraints on their imaginations when it came to depicting this distant wonderland. "Les peuples de l'Ocean Pacifique," a wallpaper design by J. C. Charvet, 1805, owed more to romantic notions of classical Arcadia than to anything which existed in the South Seas. Even so, the Pacific dream has proved remarkably enduring, as this article by Don Aimer shows, courtesy of NZ Geographic Magazine.
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Cook & Omai: The Cult of the South Seas
In 1774 the first Polynesian to visit London travelled to England with the crew of Captain Cook's second Pacific voyage and became an overnight sensation. Seen as a living example of the 'Noble Savage', Omai as he was known, was discussed by scientists and philosophers, celebrated in all the best circles and written about in everything from poetry to pornography. He proved a lightning rod for European anxieties regarding imperialism, civilisation and the true nature of mankind.
The artistic and literary legacy of Omai's encounter with Europe provides a fascinating insight into European culture in a moment of transition when old certainties were collapsing and new ones were yet to form.
This is a selection of images and Omai's story developed by the National Library of Australia in association with the Humanities Research Centre of the Australian National University.
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