Why did Captain James Cook name Poverty Bay Poverty Bay?
Poverty bay was so named by James Cook in October 1769 because,
as he wrote in his ship's log, "At 6 am we weigh'd and stood out of
the bay which I have named Poverty Bay because it afforded us no
one thing we wanted."
Simply put, this meant that Cook and his crew were unable to
procure necessary food and water supplies at the Bay. The lack of
opportunity to replenish provisions was largely due to the fact the
Cook had to leave the area quickly, after an incident between his
crew and the local people which left six Maori dead.