Captain Tobias Furneaux (21 August 173518 September 1781) was a British navigator and

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

officer, who accompanied

James Cook Captain (Royal Navy), 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 176 ...

on his second voyage of exploration. He was one of the first men to circumnavigate the world in both directions, and later commanded a British vessel during the American War of Independence.

Early life

Furneaux was born at Swilly House near Stoke Damerel, 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 and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

n coasts and in the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

during the latter part of the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

(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 language, Tahitian , ; ) is the largest island of the Windward Islands (Society Islands), Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France. It is located in the central part of t ...

, 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 during the European exploration of Australia, European exploration and colonisation of Australia in the 19th century. The Aboriginal Tasmanians, Aboriginal-inhabited island wa ...

(now

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

), and made the earliest British chart of the island. Unfortunately he mapped several place names incorrectly. He glimpsed the opening to D'Entrecasteaux Channel and thought that was Storm Bay. He thought he had rounded Cape Pillar 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, 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 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 at the eastern entrance to Bass Strait, and the group now known as the Low Archipelago. After ''Adventure'' was finally separated from ''Resolution'' off

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 ...

in October 1773, Furneaux returned home alone, bringing with him Omai 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 north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

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 captain 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 List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

. ''Syren'', with Furneaux in command, was wrecked near Point Judith, Rhode Island on 6 November 1777.Winfield (2007) The Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project (RIMAP) has published a detailed history of the ''Syrens activities in the American War of Independence, 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 List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

, 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.

Taxon named in his honor

*The Furneaux scorpionfish, '' Scorpaenopsis furneauxi'' is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

ous marine

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. They are so called because of their lightly built fins made of webbings of sk ...

belonging to the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes that was named after him. Furneaux died unmarried in 1781 and was buried in Stoke Damerel Church in Plymouth 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 British explorers of the Pacific Royal Navy captains Participants in James Cook's voyages British maritime navigators Furneaux Group Royal Navy personnel of the American Revolutionary War