Nicholas Young (born c. 1757) was a British

cabin boy A cabin boy or ship's boy is a boy or young man who waits on the officers and passengers of a ship, especially running errands for the captain. The modern merchant navy successor to the cabin boy is the steward's assistant. Duties Cabin boys ...

aboard the '' Endeavour'' during

Captain James Cook Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 1768 and 1779. He complet ...

's first voyage of discovery. In 1769, Cook named the headland Young Nick's Head in

Poverty Bay Poverty Bay (Māori language, Māori: ''Tūranganui-a-Kiwa''), officially named Tūranganui-a-Kiwa / Poverty Bay, 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 ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

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

Greenock Greenock (; ; , ) is a town in Inverclyde, Scotland, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The town is the administrative centre of Inverclyde Council. It is a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, and forms ...

, 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 status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

, 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 often aged in barrels of oak. Rum originated in the Caribbean in the 17th century, but today it is produced i ...

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 science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

Joseph Banks Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English Natural history, naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences. Banks made his name on the European and American voyages of scientific exploration, 1766 natural-history ...

. 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 official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

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 1750s births Year of death missing Participants in James Cook's voyages People from Greenock British explorers of the Pacific

On Captain Cook's ''Endeavour''

Legacy

Further reading

References

Notes