Astronomical Telescope (Gregorian reflector type)

This brass astronomical telescope is a Gregorian reflector type, made by Heath and Wing of London in about 1765.

This type of telescope was invented by Scottish astronomer James Gregory in 1661. It uses two specially shaped metal mirrors to reflect light and create a magnified image, whereas earlier telescopes had used glass lenses to refract light. Gregory’s design resulted in smaller telescopes that produced sharper images, and was the forerunner of modern reflector telescopes.

This telescope is associated with James Cook, an explorer who in 1768 was asked to command a long voyage to the Pacific to make astronomical observations. Cook and his astronomer Charles Green used a Gregorian reflector telescope to observe the Transit of Venus from Tahiti in 1769, and when this telescope was purchased by the Dominion Museum (Te Papa’s predecessor) in 1952 it was publicised as ‘Captain Cook’s telescope.’

There is, however, no archival evidence to support this claim. The telescopes supplied for Cook’s voyage were made by James Short, and Cook’s personal telescope was made by Francis Watkins.

The chain of ownership for this telescope extends back to 1864, when it was acquired by the Reverend E.W. Relton. According to Relton the telescope had been owned by either Sir Joseph Banks or Admiral Burney. He was not certain which, although he ‘believed that it was from the former [Banks] who accompanied Capt. Cook in the voyage around the world.’

By 1918 the story had changed slightly, and according to Relton’s son both Banks and the telescope had been with Cook on the Endeavour. In 1926 an auctioneer described it as ‘previously the property of Capt. Cook’, and thereafter it was known as Cook’s telescope. Although there were lingering concerns about the telescope’s authenticity it was exhibited at the Dominion Museum from about 1969 to 1991 as part of a reconstruction of Cook’s shipboard cabin.

As Lissant Bolton of the British Museum has argued, in museum terms an association with Cook adds to an object’s status or value, and the use of ‘Cook collections’ in exhibitions adds to or alters Cook’s fame. Museums, including Te Papa, played a role in constructing Cook’s popular significance as a British empire hero by celebrating his navigational feats without exploring the painful legacies of his voyages. This telescope was collected and exhibited in that context, so relates more to the Cook we constructed than to the man himself.

References

• Bolton, Lissant. 2009. ‘Brushed with fame: Museological investments in the Cook voyage collections.’ In Discovering Cook’s Collections, edited by Michelle Hetherington and Howard Morphy, 78-91. Canberra: National Museum of Australia Press.
• Lomb, Nick. 2012. ‘What telescope did Captain Cook use?’ Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences. https://maas.museum/observations/2012/04/11/what-telescope-did-captain-cook-use/
• National Museums Scotland. ‘Reflecting and Refracting Telescopes.’ https://www.nms.ac.uk/explore-our-collections/stories/science-and-technology/reflecting-and-refracting-telescopes/
• Orchiston, Wayne. 2016. ‘The "Cook" Gregorian Telescope in the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.’ In Exploring the History of New Zealand Astronomy: Trials, Tribulations, Telescopes and Transits, 207-226. Cham: Springer.