Journal containing daily observations made during the voyage. This should be read in conjunction with [RGO 14/58] the logbook of the Resolution which provides more detailed daily entries. The journal provides summary entries of observations on the ship’s course, distance, latitudes and estimated longitudes, atmospheric pressure, temperature and wind direction, with additional remarks on observations made on shore, and occasional notes on the instruments and timekeepers, and on the ship’s location.
Compared with the logbook, the journal entries are often brief, although Wales sometimes includes mention of interesting phenomena, such as sightings of whales, penguins, ice islands, and the southern lights (aurora australis), while an entry for 13-15 February 1774 records sightings of the statues on Easter Island [RGO 14/59: 11v]. Wales provides more detailed accounts of observations taken while the ship was at anchor. The entry for 18 June-6 July 1773, for example, in Queen Charlotte Sound, New Zealand, includes an account of an incident in which the lock to the case for Mr Arnold’s watch was damaged [RGO 14/59: 7r].
The final entry provides memoranda on the journal, and explanations of the column titles.