Students tour Endeavour replica
Bright and early Monday morning LC2 travelled to Wellington to the Tuia 250 experience which was a commemoration of New Zealand’s dual history.
After registering and receiving goodie bags, the students were introduced to their guide who took them to their first ship.
They were privileged to go onto the HMS Wellington as only three schools were chosen to do this.
In writing about their experience the students said the ship was huge.
“The massive grey hull of the ship rose out of the water like a solid mass of steel,” they wrote.
On the flight deck the class met Lieutenant Nikita who showed them around.
“As we stood on the flight deck we wondered where the helicopter was hidden. It was inside the carrier with its blades folded back like dog ears so it could fit and then clicked together when it was rolled out. Pretty amazing technology.
“We were taken up to the bridge of the ship, wow, all those switches and buttons were very tempting.”
They got to sit in the captain’s chair but were not allowed to touch or take photos without permission.
The students commented on the missiles, guns and torpedoes on the ship.
From there they went to a land activity where they designed their own tapa cloth pattern by rubbing crayons over a carving.
They listened to a talk about the importance of this material in the islands and the stories the patterns tell.
Next came the waka Ng¯ahiraka Mai Tawhiti. On the waka the students learned about Pacific voyaging, navigation techniques and histories from crew members.
“We were amazed that this small boat had travelled so far and especially as it is only held together by the craftsmanship of using only wood and rope. You could certainly feel the rocking of the ocean in this waka,” the students reported.
Their final experience was going on board the replica of the Endeavour. This was an exciting experience as one of the group’s family was a direct descendant of Thomas Fishburn, the shipbuilder who built the original Endeavour. This made it all the more personal for the students.
They were surprised at how small it seemed compared to what they thought it was going to be, especially as they knew it had sailed all around the world. Their imaginations were fired up as they talked about Captain Cook and how it would have been to live on a ship like this.
The skill to know what each rope was used for was mind blowing for the students. There was about 30 kilometres of rigging and 750 wooden blocks or pulleys.
It was an exact replica of the original Endeavour. The anchors weighed 2.5 tonnes and the wheel had to be steered by two people because of the weight. The ballast in the hull was lead and even the canons looked like they weighed a ton.
As for the toilet, well that was a talking point in class later.
On the way home the group stopped at the Southward Car Museum where the students explored cars, planes, motorbikes and even a speed boat.