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Lying for the Admiralty
2018 marks the start of the celebrations of the 250th anniversary of Cook's Endeavour voyage (1768-1771). Never have Cook's journals and charts been subjected to such unbiased, forensic examination. The doubts, puzzles and queries raised by J.C. Beaglehole, Cook's renowned editor and biographer, are answered. Cook's discoveries had to remain secret until Britain could afford to send an occupation force to fortify the place and keep out the French hence the publication of Cook's censored journal and charts. Controversial, detailed, contentious and compelling.
240 pages, Paperback
Published August 16, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 10, 2022
(This review was written in February 2020, before the publication in 2021 of ‘Beating France to Botany Bay’ by the same author. My review of that book provides more up to date comment on the matters relating to Cameron-Ash’s work dramatically reinterpreting the reasons Britain decided in 1787 to establish a settlement in New Holland, or Australia as we know it.)
Sydney lawyer Margaret Cameron-Ash has delivered a spectacular and revelatory new book on Captain Cook's Australian discoveries and their role in the fiercely competitive ventures mounted by Britain, France and the Dutch to establish valuable military and commercial strongholds in the South Seas, leading eventually to the settlement of continental Australia solely by the British, which in turn led to Australia developing as a single and relatively homogenous and successful entity rather than split between French, British, and possibly Dutch interests.
Published in 2018, 'Lying for the Admiralty' rewrites history by demonstrating convincingly that Cook's hitherto perceived errors of missing Bass Strait and Sydney Harbour when mapping the east coast of Australia in 1770 were in fact highly strategic concealments of these important discoveries, which successfully prevented other European powers understanding the critical value of Tasmania's island status, and learning of the existence of the spectacular and highly protective natural harbour in what is now Sydney.
Cameron-Ash compares the originals of Cook's journals of his famous voyage of 1768-1771 with published accounts authorised by the British Admiralty to demonstrate that key data was withheld in order to obfuscate the true shape and value of Australia's east coast, and to avoid giving the French material that would incite them to establish a settlement foothold in Tasmania to offset British influence (as they had done earlier in North America, and which explains why the British settlement of Australia moved quickly to Hobart Town after establishing the base in New South Wales). As it was, the French explorer Lapérouse arrived at Botany Bay only 5 days after the First Fleet in January 1788.
Cameron-Ash compiles a convincing circumstantial case that Cook deliberately fudged some elements of his voyage's trajectory and discoveries in order to convey details only orally to the British Admiralty on his return. The latter accounts for the leader of the First Fleet's arrival in Australia in 1788 seemingly being aware that Sydney Harbour rather than Botany Bay was the most likely productive location for settlement.
Cameron-Ash marshals her material with a lawyer's forensic skill. The background material on the rivalry between Britain, France, and the Dutch is succinct, informative, and gives a frisson of suspense and excitement to the account of the pressures and urgency of Cook's venture. Similarly, her account of the circumstances and topography of Cook's landing at Botany Bay makes it difficult to believe that Sydney Harbour went unnoticed, and indeed she maps out the likely half day walk that Cook would have taken to traverse the 5 miles between the Bay and the Harbour.
Well known relevant historical details provide convincing context for Cook's strategic talents. The importance of the South Seas is noted as a theatre of Cold War between Britain and France following France's loss of most of its North American possessions to the British in the Seven Years War (1756-1763).
The strategic leadership Philip Stephens of the Admiralty in setting objectives and managing risks is presented convincingly, and the close relationship between Stephens and Cook is noted.
The constant dangers of Cook's crew leaking information to Britain's rivals are recorded in detail. These include the substantial bribes paid to returning sailors for information on their voyages, the sales of purloined copies of ship journals to foreign powers, the uncooperative behaviour of the Dutch in Batavia when Cook sought repairs and replenishments, and, when Cook berthed at Cape Town during the return leg of his voyage, the sustained efforts by representatives of other European nations to get his crew drunk and extract discovery information.
The original objective of Cook's definitive voyage was to observe the 1769 transit of Venus from Tahiti, thereby establishing the then highly important navigational tool of the earth's exact distance from the sun.
Cameron-Ash's work demonstrates that the subsequent exploration and mapping of New Zealand and the east coast of Australia were not mere addenda to this scientific venture, but most likely the more important and strategically significant objective of Cook's voyage.
The dangers of these highly risky eighteenth century voyages are well known. It is worth noting that both Cook and Lapérouse lost their lives as a result of exploration. Cook was murdered in Hawaii, in 1779, and Lapérouse was butchered by the native inhabitants of the Solomon Islands after he sailed from Botany Bay in 1788.
Lying for the Admiralty is a significant contribution to the understanding of the origins and development of Australia, and while its thesis may depend to some degree on circumstantial evidence, the argument is cogent and convincing.
Sydney lawyer Margaret Cameron-Ash has delivered a spectacular and revelatory new book on Captain Cook's Australian discoveries and their role in the fiercely competitive ventures mounted by Britain, France and the Dutch to establish valuable military and commercial strongholds in the South Seas, leading eventually to the settlement of continental Australia solely by the British, which in turn led to Australia developing as a single and relatively homogenous and successful entity rather than split between French, British, and possibly Dutch interests.
Published in 2018, 'Lying for the Admiralty' rewrites history by demonstrating convincingly that Cook's hitherto perceived errors of missing Bass Strait and Sydney Harbour when mapping the east coast of Australia in 1770 were in fact highly strategic concealments of these important discoveries, which successfully prevented other European powers understanding the critical value of Tasmania's island status, and learning of the existence of the spectacular and highly protective natural harbour in what is now Sydney.
Cameron-Ash compares the originals of Cook's journals of his famous voyage of 1768-1771 with published accounts authorised by the British Admiralty to demonstrate that key data was withheld in order to obfuscate the true shape and value of Australia's east coast, and to avoid giving the French material that would incite them to establish a settlement foothold in Tasmania to offset British influence (as they had done earlier in North America, and which explains why the British settlement of Australia moved quickly to Hobart Town after establishing the base in New South Wales). As it was, the French explorer Lapérouse arrived at Botany Bay only 5 days after the First Fleet in January 1788.
Cameron-Ash compiles a convincing circumstantial case that Cook deliberately fudged some elements of his voyage's trajectory and discoveries in order to convey details only orally to the British Admiralty on his return. The latter accounts for the leader of the First Fleet's arrival in Australia in 1788 seemingly being aware that Sydney Harbour rather than Botany Bay was the most likely productive location for settlement.
Cameron-Ash marshals her material with a lawyer's forensic skill. The background material on the rivalry between Britain, France, and the Dutch is succinct, informative, and gives a frisson of suspense and excitement to the account of the pressures and urgency of Cook's venture. Similarly, her account of the circumstances and topography of Cook's landing at Botany Bay makes it difficult to believe that Sydney Harbour went unnoticed, and indeed she maps out the likely half day walk that Cook would have taken to traverse the 5 miles between the Bay and the Harbour.
Well known relevant historical details provide convincing context for Cook's strategic talents. The importance of the South Seas is noted as a theatre of Cold War between Britain and France following France's loss of most of its North American possessions to the British in the Seven Years War (1756-1763).
The strategic leadership Philip Stephens of the Admiralty in setting objectives and managing risks is presented convincingly, and the close relationship between Stephens and Cook is noted.
The constant dangers of Cook's crew leaking information to Britain's rivals are recorded in detail. These include the substantial bribes paid to returning sailors for information on their voyages, the sales of purloined copies of ship journals to foreign powers, the uncooperative behaviour of the Dutch in Batavia when Cook sought repairs and replenishments, and, when Cook berthed at Cape Town during the return leg of his voyage, the sustained efforts by representatives of other European nations to get his crew drunk and extract discovery information.
The original objective of Cook's definitive voyage was to observe the 1769 transit of Venus from Tahiti, thereby establishing the then highly important navigational tool of the earth's exact distance from the sun.
Cameron-Ash's work demonstrates that the subsequent exploration and mapping of New Zealand and the east coast of Australia were not mere addenda to this scientific venture, but most likely the more important and strategically significant objective of Cook's voyage.
The dangers of these highly risky eighteenth century voyages are well known. It is worth noting that both Cook and Lapérouse lost their lives as a result of exploration. Cook was murdered in Hawaii, in 1779, and Lapérouse was butchered by the native inhabitants of the Solomon Islands after he sailed from Botany Bay in 1788.
Lying for the Admiralty is a significant contribution to the understanding of the origins and development of Australia, and while its thesis may depend to some degree on circumstantial evidence, the argument is cogent and convincing.
April 19, 2024
It's almost impossible to put down this intriguing addition to our knowledge of Australian history. It's an engaging, convincing and fascinating read.
It clearly explains that the Terra Australis Incognita being avidly sought by many 18th century explorers was actually a land mass thought to 'balance' the land mass of the northern hemisphere, and not New Holland (ie Australia), whose western shoreline was already known about and drawn on many maps. Hence Cook's route across the high southern latitudes of the Pacific, and his circumnavigation of New Zealand, disproving this theory. Eventually, when the dimensions of this most southerly landmass were finally understood, it had to be named Antarctica because the name Australia had by now been taken by a separate continent.
For someone like me, originally from Sydney's Northern Beaches area, it makes perfect sense that the brilliant navigator and cartographer Captain James Cook was fully aware of the existence of the magnificent harbour hiding behind the towering headlands at Sydney Harbour's entrance - and that, in 1770, for 'great power' strategic reasons, he deliberately hid this information from his crew and in his logbooks. He hid other things too - like the existence of Bass Strait, later named after its notional 'discoverer', and what really happened at Possession Island, when Cook wasn't sure if the landmass he'd just surveyed was part of New Holland, already known about, or a separate geographic place, with an ocean between.
Cook ranks even higher in my estimation now. This book also goes a lot further to explain, in my mind, why Joseph Banks retained such a powerful influence on Australian affairs for decades after his voyage with Cook on the 'Endeavour'.
This book is essential reading for any Australian interested in truth telling. And anyone teaching Australian history. I wish I'd known of 'Lying for the Admiralty', published in 2018, before I published my own book 'Sentenced to Debt: Robert Forrester, First Fleeter' in 2020.
It clearly explains that the Terra Australis Incognita being avidly sought by many 18th century explorers was actually a land mass thought to 'balance' the land mass of the northern hemisphere, and not New Holland (ie Australia), whose western shoreline was already known about and drawn on many maps. Hence Cook's route across the high southern latitudes of the Pacific, and his circumnavigation of New Zealand, disproving this theory. Eventually, when the dimensions of this most southerly landmass were finally understood, it had to be named Antarctica because the name Australia had by now been taken by a separate continent.
For someone like me, originally from Sydney's Northern Beaches area, it makes perfect sense that the brilliant navigator and cartographer Captain James Cook was fully aware of the existence of the magnificent harbour hiding behind the towering headlands at Sydney Harbour's entrance - and that, in 1770, for 'great power' strategic reasons, he deliberately hid this information from his crew and in his logbooks. He hid other things too - like the existence of Bass Strait, later named after its notional 'discoverer', and what really happened at Possession Island, when Cook wasn't sure if the landmass he'd just surveyed was part of New Holland, already known about, or a separate geographic place, with an ocean between.
Cook ranks even higher in my estimation now. This book also goes a lot further to explain, in my mind, why Joseph Banks retained such a powerful influence on Australian affairs for decades after his voyage with Cook on the 'Endeavour'.
This book is essential reading for any Australian interested in truth telling. And anyone teaching Australian history. I wish I'd known of 'Lying for the Admiralty', published in 2018, before I published my own book 'Sentenced to Debt: Robert Forrester, First Fleeter' in 2020.
August 3, 2022
Very interesting view of Cook’s first voyage to the Pacific. What could appear to be an intriguing conjecture is backed up by amazing detective work and a thorough analysis of many original journals. What happened to those journals is just as interesting as the journeys themselves. I now look forward to the author’s next book about the race between the French and English to colonize this continent. Also interesting that they weren’t in search of New Holland at all. But the non existent Great South Land. Not the same thing at all. Also, the name New Holland gives a hint as to who ( under European agreements at the time) really had the rightful claim to the continent.
April 29, 2021
Enjoyed this and its tantalising theories. Makes complete sense that Cook would have seen Sydney harbour. One ofthe volunteers on board the replica HMB endeavour at Sydney's Maritime Museum suggested I read the book, and really glad I did.
July 27, 2020
Very compelling case. My main question: if true with respect to the hiding of Sydney Harbour, why did the Admiralty wait over 15 years to secure it? But for that question, I am ready to believe!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews