Name/TitleMedal mentioning Captain James Cook's death in the Hawaiian Islands; "Kill'd by the Indians at O'Why'Hee February 14 1779"
About this objectMinted shortly after news of Cook's death had reached Europe, this must be one of the very earliest mentions of either Cook's death or the discovery of the Hawaiian Islands in any form. Graded R ("of the high rarity") by British Historical Medals. Four other examples are known to numismatists, one of them in the British Museum.
The obverse has a portrait of Cook in naval uniform facing half-right with the caption "CAPTAIN JAMES COOK". The reverse reads: "KILL'D / BY THE INDIANS / AT O'WHY'HEE / FEBRUARY 14 / 1779".
This early attempt at transliteration of the native word for the Hawaiian Islands quickly became formalised as Owhyhee. Bushing's Wochentlichte Nachrichten (Berlin, 1780) has been identified by Forbes (Hawaiian National Bibliography, 1) as the earliest printed reference to the death of Cook. Busching's information came from despatches sent back by Clerke and King via Kamchatka to St Petersburg and thence to London. This news via Russia, which was published in England in January 1780, remained the only source for information on the events at Kealakekua Bay almost until the return of Resolution and Discovery in September 1780, when further details began to be disseminated.
Very few pieces indeed can be identified as falling into this period after the news of Cook's death had reached Europe but before any detailed description was available. Mira speculates that this medal may have been issued earlier than the similar, and similarly rare, "Courage and Perseverance" medal of the same date, although comparison of the two suggests Mira may have been in error.
MakerUnknown
Maker RoleMaker
Date Made1780
Period18th century
Place MadeUnited Kingdom
Medium and MaterialsSilver or pewter
MeasurementsDiameter - 3.86cm
Object TypeMedallions and Convict Tokens
Object numberSF000688
Copyright Licence
Attribution - Non-commercial - No Derivatives (cc)
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The mug is decorated with an underglaze and a blue transfer print. On the body, it is titled ‘Emigrants to Australia’. This type of body and glaze was discontinued by 1840. Comparison of the handle shape and the profile of the foot, point to the attribution of manufacture by the Davenport Factory.
Delta was a ship-rigged vessel with two decks and three masts. It was built in Dordrecht, Netherlands in 1839 at the shipyard of Jan Schouten and registered in the same port. Its hull was constructed of oak and sheathed in ‘yellow metal’. Delta was owned by H. van der Sande at the time of its loss and was engaged as a cargo trader.
The Delta carried 29 crew and passengers, while sailing from Melbourne to Batavia in ballast when wrecked at Kenn Reefs on 30 May 1854 whilst under the command of Captain J.G. Kunst. This vessel loss supports the pattern of shipwrecks located on a well-travelled shipping route that was poorly charted until the mid-nineteenth century. The crew of the Delta could see four other shipwrecks at Kenn Reefs at the time of their vessel’s loss.
Important image of a ship associated with Matthew Flinders, that would shortly become one of the most famous early shipwrecks in eastern Australian waters. This is a fine ship’s portrait, by one of the great exponents of the art