Nicholas Young (born c. 1757) was a British

cabin boy ''Cabin Boy'' is a 1994 American fantasy comedy film, directed by Adam Resnick and co-produced by Tim Burton, which starred comedian Chris Elliott. Elliott co-wrote the film with Resnick. Both Elliott and Resnick worked for '' Late Night with Dav ...

aboard the '' Endeavour'' during

Captain James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean and ...

's first voyage of discovery. In 1769, Cook named the headland

Young Nick's Head Young Nick's Head is a headland at the southern end of Poverty Bay in New Zealand's North Island. The area is the landing place of the Horouta and Te Ikaroa-a-Rauru waka (canoe), waka which carried Māori people, Māori settlers to the region aroun ...

Poverty Bay Poverty Bay (Māori: ''Tūranganui-a-Kiwa'') is the largest of several small bays on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island to the north of Hawke Bay. It stretches for from Young Nick's Head in the southwest to Tuaheni Point in the north ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

after him. In ''The Remarkable Story of Andrew Swan'', it is stated that Young hailed from

Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh of barony, burgh within the Counties of Scotland, historic ...

, on the Clyde. Young Nick Statue Gisborne

On Captain Cook's ''Endeavour''

Young was eleven years old when the ''Endeavour'' departed

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

, England on 26 August 1768. He was the personal servant of the ''Endeavour’s'' surgeon, William Brougham Monkhouse. In early October 1769, Cook offered a reward of

rum Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is usually aged in oak barrels. Rum is produced in nearly every sugar-producing region of the world, such as the Phili ...

to the man who first sighted land, and promised that 'that part of the coast of the said land should be named after him'. This was awarded to Young who first sighted land from the masthead at about 2pm on 6 October 1769. After Young returned to Plymouth in July 1771, he became the servant of the ''Endeavour's''

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

Joseph Banks Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences. Banks made his name on the 1766 natural-history expedition to Newfoundland and Labrador. He took part in Captain James ...

. In 1772, Young accompanied Banks on an expedition to Iceland, but nothing further is known about his life.

Legacy

On 10 October 1969, a bronze statue of Nicholas Young was unveiled by

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

Sir Arthur Porritt at Churchill Park on Waikanae Beach, Gisborne as part of the Cook Bicentenary Celebrations. The monument, sculpted by Frank Szirmay, depicts Young pointing towards the white cliffs of Young Nicks Head.

References

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Nicholas English sailors 1757 births Year of death missing James Cook People from Greenock British explorers of the Pacific

On Captain Cook's ''Endeavour''

Legacy

Further reading

References

Notes