Dame Anne Salmond
DATE: Wednesday 9 June 2004
TIME: 1.30 – 3.00pm
Join our videoconference to talk with Dame Anne Salmond about:
- Captain James Cook's epic first voyage to record the Transit of Venus
- First encounters between Maori and Europeans.
Anne Salmond is Distinguished Professor of Maori Studies at the University of Auckland and a Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University. An award-winning author, she was made Dame Commander of the British Empire in 1995 for services to literature and the Maori people. She has devoted a lifetime to the study of relations between Europeans and Polynesians. Her most recent book, The Trial of the Cannibal Dog, describes Cook's three voyages to the Antipodes, in 1768, 1772, and 1776.
Transits of Venus are rare. In 1768 Cook was hired by the Royal Society of London to go to Tahiti to observe the Transit of Venus on 3 June 1769 to calculate the distance between the earth and the sun - such an opportunity wouldn't come again for another 120 years.
Teams from Tolaga Bay Area School, Nelson College and Pakuranga College will in the UK to observe the Transit of Venus. They will produce daily video reports for transmission back to New Zealand via a web stream on the Transit of Venus website (www.transitofvenus.co.nz).
TO REGISTER FOR THIS DIGITAL CONVERSATION, CONTACT lucy@cwa.co.nz BY FRIDAY 4TH JUNE
Telephone: (04) 382 6521
RESOURCE ALERT
Prime your students ahead of our videoconference with Dame Anne Salmond on 9 June.
Visit www.transitofvenus.co.nz
This fantastic website has been created to mark the Transit of Venus. It includes 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 new book, The Trial of the Cannibal Dog: Captain Cook in the South Seas. Dame Anne shares her views on Cook and the high priest navigator Tupaia and talks about the lasting impact of this extraordinary voyage of First Contact with New Zealand Māori.
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.
The Transit of Venus website also includes excerpts from chapters 2–8 of Dame Anne's new book.
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.
AND THERE'S MORE
The Transit of Venus website is divided into four main sections: Astronomy, Cook's Explorations, Waka Voyaging and Transit of Venus 2004 Expedition, which follows nine kiwi students who won The Royal Society competition to observe the Transit of Venus from England. It is not visible from New Zealand until it's second phase in 2012. Between 1–9 June the website will stream daily video reports from the students as they visit key locations such as Greenwich, the Royal Society in London, Stonehenge, and Captain Cook's home town.
The site is overflowing with multimedia resources, thanks to support from the National Library, Television New Zealand, and Radio New Zealand. Some of the video footage includes the TV One programme Captain's Log (re-enacting Cook's voyage), Marae (recreating the legendary waka voyages) and an interview with the late historian Michael King. There are also interactives galore – one resource takes you on a virtual tour of the Endeavour. Many of these resources would not normally be accessible, so it is really worth taking time to explore what's on the site.