Kōrero: European discovery of New Zealand

Chronometer, c. 1820

Chronometer, c. 1820

Accurate timekeeping, used to calculate longitude, was essential for precise navigation and map making. James Cook could not have found his way so easily around the Pacific, or made such accurate charts, without the improvements in ships’ chronometers made in the 18th century. Although this chronometer was made 50 years after Cook’s voyages, it is a good example of the type of instrument he would have used.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Museum of Wellington City and Sea
Photograph by Melanie Lovell-Smith

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Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Te tuhi tohutoro mō tēnei whārangi:

John Wilson, 'European discovery of New Zealand - James Cook', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/mi/object/1415/chronometer-c-1820 (accessed 26 April 2024)

He kōrero nā John Wilson, i tāngia i te 8 Feb 2005, updated 1 May 2016