THE ENDEAVOUR (1764) The ENDEAVOUR was built in England at the Deptford and Woolwich Yards. She was 97.8 feet long with a beam of 29.2 feet and her mainmast carried 23 yards. She left Plymouth on 26th August 1768 under the command of Captain James COOK bound for TAHITI. His scientific observations were disputed by a number of experts. One year later, COOK undertook a new expedition during which he discovered NEW ZEALAND. He made a voyage to the ANTARCTIC and also discovered the Society Islands. COOK, who was born at MARTON in 1728, was killed in the SANDWICH Islands (Hawaï) which he had discovered on a previous voyage, in a fight with the natives. An archipelago in the South Pacific bears his name, as does one of the highest mountains in NEW ZEALAND and a city on the Australian coast.