AN OCEAN IN A

MIND

AND A MIND ON AN

OCEAN

ABOUT
KUPE & COOK

In "Navigation: Kupe & Cook" Kingsley Smith traces the beginnings of travel by boat as man migrated out of Africa and arrived in Sahul: Australia-New Guinea, 50,000 years ago.

He discusses the role of navigation in Literary societies, up to the voyages of Captain James Cook, and in Orality societies, especially those in Polynesia up to the time when Kupe made his voyage to Aotearoa. The genetic origins of the Taiwanese are revealed prior to their south-easterly migration into the Pacific.

The skills developed navigating along major rivers aided the development of oceanic voyaging. Navigation also demands communication, writing and memory. Writing allowed the production of the earliest navigation books and maps in Literary societies and the materials and instruments for early navigation systems. The instruments used by Cook enabled precise latitude and longitude navigation, particularly the accurate chronometer.

Without writing, the Orality societies developed intricate methods to aid memories of their navigation systems. Two Pacific navigation systems using different techniques are revealed, one is the oldest in the Pacific, the Vaeakau-Taumako system, the other is the Tahitian system, which uniquely allows latitude and longitude navigation using Rua and Ana stars and the Pou pillar of navigation.

“An impressive and valuable contribution to an important area of maritime studies.”

-JOAN DRUETT, author of Tupaia: Captain Cook’s Polynesian Navigator

ABOUT
THE AUTHOR

KINGSLEY SMITH

Originally from Oamaru and now living Te Puke, New Zealand, Kingsley Smith has spent most of his life involved with poultry, firstly on the family farms and then as a scientist and lecturer in poultry science working in New Zealand, Australia, Canada, USA and Scotland. Latterly in Scotland he managed the postgraduate course in Poultry Science until 2001 and specialised in physiology, breeding and genetics.

Now in retirement he has written books on the history of the major poultry breeding companies across the globe. Away from poultry he has a lifelong interest in aviation and after retirement took up cycling. He has two adult children, Jason and Angelique who with their families live in Scotland and New Zealand. In 2011 he was involved in the Theme of Navigation for Whitianga and wrote a blogspot on Navigation in mercuryandmaia.blogspot before starting to write “Navigation: Kupe and Cook “