Transit of Venus

The Transit of Venus has fascinated astronomers for centuries. In 1769 Captain James Cook sailed to the Pacific with a group of scientists to observe the Transit in Tahiti but Cook had also received secret orders to voyage onwards in search of the fabled Unknown Southern Continent . It was on this voyage that he made landfall at Tolaga Bay, met the local Maori and initiated the first positive encounter between Europe and Aotearoa/New Zealand. Nearly 250 years later three German poets flew to the Pacific to join with three New Zealand poets in observing another Transit of Venus. They came together at a gathering hosted by the Tolaga Bay Uawa community that used the focus of this historically significant event to consider how science might make a difference to New Zealand s future. In poems presented in both English and German, these six remarkable voices present a fresh series of encounters between Europe and New Zealand and record a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The next Transit of Venus will not be seen until 2117."