Megan Udinski, FISM News
Captain James Cook was a British explorer from the late 1700s accredited with creating an accurate map of the Pacific as well as disproving the existence of a false continent called Terra Australis through his voyages around Australia, New Zealand and even Hawaii.
On Thursday, Australian maritime experts reported that Cook’s ship, HMS Endeavor, had been discovered. Legend has it the HMS Endeavor was purposefully sunk by the British during the American Revolution off the coast of Newport Harbor, Rhode Island, after it was purchased by private American owners.
Chief executive of the Australian National Maritime Museum Kevin Sumption announced “a major historic maritime” discovery had been made. In a Sydney news conference he stated, “The last pieces of the puzzle had to be confirmed before I felt able to make this call. Based on archival and archeological evidence, I’m convinced it’s the Endeavor.”
For the past 22 years U.S. and Australian maritime archeologists have jointly been searching a 2-mile stretch of Newport Harbor, investigating several shipwrecks.
Kieran Hosty, the Australian museum’s manager of maritime archeology supported their discovery by citing the size of the timbers used, the scuttling holes in the keel, and the European design of the ship as a few indicators they had found the infamous ship. He also acknowledged the conflict their announcement of the vessel unearthed between the Australian and U.S. archeologists.
D.K. Abbass, the executive director of the Rhode Island Marine Archeology Project (RIMAP), explained that her team was the lead for the research study happening at Newport Harbor and the premature announcement breached their contract. Hosty told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that he thought their contract with RIMAP was up in November but could not be certain.
In the statement issued by Abbass she wrote, “What we see on the shipwreck site under study is consistent with what might be expected of the Endeavor, but there has been no indisputable data found to prove the site is that iconic vessel, and there are many unanswered questions that could overturn such an identification.” She quipped that the U.S. team will make an announcement that is not based on emotions or politics and only after a proper scientific process has been completed.
The Australian museum responded to Abbass, clarifying that “The museum has reviewed our previous agreements with RIMAP, and we conclude that we are not in breach of any current commitments. We look forward to pursuing a due process of peer review and consultation with all stakeholders in Rhode Island.”
Chief Executive Sumption closed his announcement with, “It’s an important historical moment, as this vessel’s role in exploration, astronomy and science applies not just to Australia, but also Aotearoa New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.”
You can watch a short video below where Hosty details how shipwrecks are researched and defends why the museum believes they have found the Endeavor.