Captain Cook's first voyage is now accepted as one of the greatest voyages of discovery of all time. It not only achieved its purpose of observing the transit of Venus but also made the first European contact with Eastern Australia and accurately mapped New Zeaand.
The commemorative miniature sheet comprises two 1st class NVIs depicting a chart of discoveries made on the voyage and a boathouse and canoes seen in the Society Islands and two £1.45 stamps depicting an arched rock with a Maori cliff-top fort and the Endeavour under repair in Australia. The selvedge reproduces hand-coloured engravings from 'A Journal of a Voyage to the South Seas' by Sydney Parkinson, a draughtsman who sailed with Cook.
The Gold 500 cover features a striking image of a Banksian Cockatoo, named after Joseph Banks, the naturalist and botanist who sailed with Cook, surrounded by a beautiful 22ct gold-blocked frame. The cover bears a Plymouth pictorial cockatoo handstamp. Numbered limited edition of 500.
