Whitby - the land of Captain Cook

Whitby is famous for many things: it's a traditional seaside resort with beautiful beaches, and has some of the best fish and chips around. But there's so much more to discover here... Who would have thought that Whitby and Captain James Cook are very closely connected, for without Whitby, there may never have been a Captain Cook?

Captain James Cook (1728 – 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the Royal Navy. Cook made detailed maps of Newfoundland prior to making three voyages to the Pacific Ocean, during which he achieved the first recorded European contact with the eastern coastline of Australia and the Hawaiian Islands, and the first recorded circumnavigation of New Zealand.

He was born in a village near Whitby. In 1746 he moved to Whitby and many believe this is where Cook first got the love of the sea in his blood.

He took on apprenticeship for John and Henry Walkers, who were ship owners and worked in the coal trade. They gave Cook the opportunity to sale the seas. This is where he started his career, but it’s far from the end of his adventure.

His memory lives on in modern Whitby. The statue of Cook was unveiled in 1912. The inscription on it reads: “For the lasting Memory of a great Yorkshire seaman this bronze has been cast, and is left in the keeping of Whitby; the birthplace of those good ships that bore him on his enterprises, brought him to glory, and left him at rest.”