Norfolk Island was first discovered by Captain James Cook on October 10, 1774. He was on his second trip around the world in his ship, the "Resolution". He landed on the island which was uninhabited (there was no one living there). He found a flax plant (Phormium tenax) and large trees, now called Norfolk Island Pines (Araucaria heterophylla). He thought the flax could be used to make cloth for ship sails and the pine trees would make good masts for ships. He used one of the trees to make a new top mast for the "Resolution". Cook wrote about the island in his book, "A Voyage towards the South Pole", printed in London in 1777.