A Voyage towards the South Pole, and Round the World: Performed in His Majesty’s Ships the Resolution and Adventure. Vol. I

1777

de Beer Ec 1777 C

London: Printed for W Strahan and T Cadell

For many years, Māori have used flax (Phormium tenax and Phormium cookianum, known as harakeke and wharariki respectively) for medicinal purposes and for rope-making and matting. Early European visitors such as Banks also realised the potential of the plant, especially its usefulness in rope-making. Painter William Hodges (1744-1797) accompanied Cook on his second voyage to the Pacific. Although renowned for his landscape paintings, Hodges also executed botanical drawings like this flax illustration for Cook’s A Voyage towards the South Pole (1777).