Artwork in Focus - William Ellis, View of Adventure Bay, Van Diemen's Land, New Holland, 1777
In this article, I'd like discuss the painting I've used as the primary image on this website. It was painted in 1777 on Captain James Cook's final voyage. It shows both the Resolution and Discovery anchored in the bay, set within the Adventure Bay landscape. On 26 January, on the first stage of his third voyage to the Pacific, Cook anchored in Adventure Bay, Van Dieman's Land (now Tasmania). Cook’s voyages aimed to extend British knowledge and imperial and economic potentia