Captain Tobias Furneaux (21 August 173518 September 1781) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

navigator A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation.Grierson, MikeAviation History—Demise of the Flight Navigator FrancoFlyers.org website, October 14, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2014. The navigator's prima ...

and

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

officer, who accompanied

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 ...

on his second voyage of exploration. He was one of the first men to

circumnavigate Circumnavigation is the complete navigation around an entire island, continent, or astronomical body (e.g. a planet or moon). This article focuses on the circumnavigation of Earth. The first recorded circumnavigation of the Earth was the Magel ...

the world in both directions, and later commanded a British vessel during the

American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

Early life

Furneaux was born at Swilly House near

Stoke Damerel Stoke, also referred to by its earlier name of Stoke Damerel, is a parish, that was once part of the historical Devonport, England; this was prior to 1914. In 1914, Devonport and Plymouth amalgamated with Stonehouse: the new town took the nam ...

, Plymouth Dock, son of William Furneaux (1696–1748) of Swilly, and Susanna Wilcocks (1698–1775).Hough (1995), pages 228-229 He entered the

and was employed on the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

n coasts and in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

during the latter part of the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754 ...

(1760–1763). He served as second lieutenant of under Captain Samuel Wallis on the latter's voyage round the globe (August 1766May 1768) and due to Wallis being ill and confined to his cabin, Furneaux was the first European to set foot on

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austra ...

, hoisting a pennant, turning a turf, and taking possession of the land in the name of His Majesty (25 June 1767).

Service with Cook

In November 1771, Furneaux was given command of HMS , which accompanied

(in ) on his second voyage. On this expedition Furneaux was twice separated from his leader (8 February 1773 to 19 May 1773; and 22 October 1773 to 14 July 1774, the date of his return to England). On the former occasion he explored a great part of the south and east coasts of

Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania used by the British during the European exploration of Australia in the 19th century. A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land in 1803 before it became a sep ...

(now

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

), and made the earliest British chart of the island. Unfortunately he mapped several place names incorrectly. He glimpsed the opening to

D'Entrecasteaux Channel The D'Entrecasteaux Channel is a body of water located between Bruny Island and the south-east of the mainland of Tasmania, Australia. The channel is the mouth for the estuaries of the Derwent and the Huon Rivers and empties into the Tasman S ...

and thought that was

Storm Bay The Storm Bay is a large bay in the south-east region of Tasmania, Australia. The bay is the river mouth to the Derwent River estuary and serves as the main port of Hobart, the capital city of Tasmania. The bay is bordered by Bruny Island t ...

. He thought he had rounded

Cape Pillar Cape Pillar is a rural locality in the local government area (LGA) of Tasman in the South-east LGA region of Tasmania. The locality is about south-east of the town of Nubeena. The 2016 census recorded a population of 4 for the state suburb o ...

and was on the east coast just south of Cape Frederick Hendrik, whereas he had turned left one stop early and was at

Bruny Island Bruny Island ( Nuenonne: Lunawanna-alonnah) is a island located off the south-eastern coast of Tasmania, Australia. The island is separated from the Tasmanian mainland by the D'Entrecasteaux Channel, and its east coast lies within the Tasman ...

, where he named Adventure Bay for his ship. The cape to his north he assumed to be Cape Frederick Hendrik, with Frederick Hendrik Bay on the other side of it, so he put both names on his chart. Off to the north-east, Furneaux could see where

Maria Island Maria Island or 'wukaluwikiwayna' in alawa kani) is a mountainous island located in the Tasman Sea">island.html" ;"title="alawa kani) is a mountainous island">alawa kani) is a mountainous island located in the Tasman Sea, off the east coast of ...

should be, but there seemed to be a few extra sights of land, so he changed the name to Maria Isles.Sketch of Van Diemen Land, National Library of Australia Map nk-2456-50 Most of his names here survive; Cook, visiting the shore-line on his third voyage, confirmed Furneaux's account and delineation of it, with certain minor criticisms and emendations, and named after him the

Furneaux Group The Furneaux Group is a group of approximately 100 islands located at the eastern end of Bass Strait, between Victoria and Tasmania, Australia. The islands were named after British navigator Tobias Furneaux, who sighted the eastern side of ...

at the eastern entrance to

Bass Strait Bass Strait () is a strait separating the island states and territories of Australia, state of Tasmania from the Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, with the exception of the land border across Bo ...

, and the group now known as the Low Archipelago. After ''Adventure'' was finally separated from ''Resolution'' off

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 coun ...

in October 1773, Furneaux returned home alone, bringing with him

Omai Mai (c.1751-late 1779), known as Omai in Britain, was a young Ra'iatean man who became the second Pacific Islander to visit Europe, after Ahu-toru who was brought to Paris by Bougainville in 1768. Life Ma'i, born c.1751, described himself ...

of Ulaietea (Raiatea). This first South Sea Islander to travel to

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...

returned to Tahiti with Cook on 12 August 1777. Also of note is that Furneaux successfully introduced domestic animals and potatoes into the South Sea Islands.

Later commands

Furneaux was made a navigator in 1775. During the American War of Independence, he commanded HMS ''Syren'' in the British attack of 28 June 1776 upon

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

. ''Syren'', with Furneaux in command, was wrecked near

Point Judith, Rhode Island Point Judith is a village and a small cape, on the coast of Narragansett, Rhode Island, on the western side of Narragansett Bay where it opens out onto Rhode Island Sound. It is the location for the year-round ferry service that connects Block I ...

on 6 November 1777.Winfield (2007) The Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project (RIMAP) has published a detailed history of the ''Syrens activities in the

, as well as some of the original documents related to her loss, confirming 6 November as the correct date. By 10 November Furneaux and his crew were prisoners in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...

, awaiting later exchange. RIMAP has also noted that the ''Syren'' is one of at least five ships associated with Captain Cook and his circumnavigating men with an historical connection to the State of Rhode Island. Furneaux died unmarried in 1781 and was buried in

Stoke Damerel Church Stoke Damerel Church, also known as the Church of St Andrew with St Luke, is a Church of England church in Stoke, Plymouth, Devon, England. Dating from the 15th century, the church has been Grade II* listed since 1954. In addition to its li ...

where he had been christened.

Notes

Footnotes

Citations

References

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Furneaux, Tobias 1735 births 1781 deaths Military personnel from Plymouth, Devon English explorers Circumnavigators of the globe Explorers of Australia English explorers of the Pacific Royal Navy officers James Cook British navigators Furneaux Group Royal Navy personnel of the American Revolutionary War