'I couldn't believe it': location of Captain Cook's HMB Endeavour finalised

The Advertiser

03-06-2025

It was early afternoon in September 2017 when Australian National Maritime Museum maritime archaeologist Dr James Hunter took his first dive on the shipwreck lying in 13 metres of murky water at Newport Harbour in Rhode Island.
He was joined by two local divers from the Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project (RIMAP). They were underwater for just 20 minutes.
"We just went down and swam around," says Hunter. "I saw two cannons sitting on the seabed. The visibility wasn't great. We were looking at it for the first time and realised: 'Wow, there's a lot here.'"
They were diving amongst a graveyard of British 18th-century transport ships scuttled by the British to blockade Newport Harbour in August 1778 during the American War of Independence.
What they were looking at was the shipwreck RI 2394 - now positively identified by the Museum as HMB Endeavour (later renamed Lord Sandwich), the ship used by Lieutenant James Cook on his discovery of Australia in 1770.
Their findings are part of the Australian National Maritime Museum's final 126-page report, Locating HMB Endeavour, into the 25-year journey to positively identify the ship's resting place
Authors Kieran Hosty and James Hunter state: "This report outlines the archival and archaeological evidence that confirms the identification of the shipwreck site of Lord Sandwich, formerly HMB Endeavour... and at the same time discounts any of the other investigated shipwreck sites as that of James Cook's renowned ship of exploration."
READ MORE: Let's not cancel Captain Cook: what history tells us of the great navigator
Ms Daryl Karp AM, director and CEO of the museum, said, "This Final Report is the culmination of 25 years of detailed and meticulous archaeological study on this important vessel.
"It has involved underwater investigation in the US and extensive research in institutions across the globe. This Final Report marks our definitive statement on the project."
The positive identification was based on a 'preponderance of evidence' approach. An agreement between RIMAP and the Sydney Museum established 10 key criteria needed to positively identify the wreck.
The museum is now satisfied that those criteria match Cook's ship, launched in Whitby, North Yorkshire in 1764, originally named the Earl of Pembroke.
Work by the museum positively identified the precise part of the ship on which they were diving and led them to identify the stump of a pump shaft used to pump water out of the bottom of the hull.
Hunter said: "RIMAP maintained that all ships scuttled prior to the Battle of Rhode Island had their bows facing north, but notes that didn't make sense because of prevailing southerly winds and swell that are characteristic of Newport Harbour in August. They would have been easier to prepare for scuttling with their bows facing south into the wind and waves.
"I'd acquired high-resolution scans of the Endeavour plans from 1768. I superimposed them over my site plan with the bow facing north, but it didn't work. So, I swung the site plan around in Photoshop, and multiple hull features lined up. I couldn't believe it."
Dr Kathy Abbas, however, one of two principal investigators at RIMAP, refuses to acknowledge that the ship is Endeavour.
Her report, released last November, states: "Some details are consistent with the possibility that she could be HMB Endeavour, but there has been nothing found to refute or confirm the identification of this site as that iconic vessel."
The impasse, Hunter says, is delaying further research. He suggests bringing one of the ship's cannons to the surface to compare it with one jettisoned by Cook when he ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef in June 1770 (now on display at the Museum).
Endeavour originally had 10 four-pounder cannons. Six in total were abandoned to raise the ship in the water when it grounded and there are four lying inside the surviving lower hull. It is, however, possible the cannons were changed as the ship was later deployed in different roles.
"RIMAP has always had the concept that you have to find an artifact with a name on it or something compelling like a ship's bell," says Hunter. RIMAP is looking for a 'gold nugget' artefact.
"They have the gold nugget artefact. It's the hull. But they're still not over the line. They're still not saying: 'Yeah, you guys have got it right.'"
Marine archaeologist Nigel Erskine, former museum archaeologist who first dived on the wrecks in Rhode Island in 2004, is convinced the identification is correct.
He said of Dr Abbas: "She wants something, a bit like Shackleton's vessel [Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton's ship Endurance was found in 2022] with great preservation and the name still intact across the stern, you couldn't miss it. But that's not the case with this vessel, or any of the others there in Rhode Island."
Report co-author Kieran Hosty said preservation of the site remained a priority.
"The development of a conservation management plan in association with the state authorities regarding management of the site would be a good move."
He said he had great respect for Dr Abbas as a historian.
"Dr Abbas has done some amazing work in Newport on the shipwrecks there," he said.
"But I think she's incorrect in her premise that it's not the Endeavour."
Daryl Karp added: "We want to acknowledge the work of the museum's archaeological team over the past 25 years, the work of Dr Kathy Abass in Rhode Island, the Rhode Island authorities, and the many subject specialists who have provided expert information and guidance over the years."
The writer is a contractor for the Australian Maritime Museum
It was early afternoon in September 2017 when Australian National Maritime Museum maritime archaeologist Dr James Hunter took his first dive on the shipwreck lying in 13 metres of murky water at Newport Harbour in Rhode Island.
He was joined by two local divers from the Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project (RIMAP). They were underwater for just 20 minutes.
"We just went down and swam around," says Hunter. "I saw two cannons sitting on the seabed. The visibility wasn't great. We were looking at it for the first time and realised: 'Wow, there's a lot here.'"
They were diving amongst a graveyard of British 18th-century transport ships scuttled by the British to blockade Newport Harbour in August 1778 during the American War of Independence.
What they were looking at was the shipwreck RI 2394 - now positively identified by the Museum as HMB Endeavour (later renamed Lord Sandwich), the ship used by Lieutenant James Cook on his discovery of Australia in 1770.
Their findings are part of the Australian National Maritime Museum's final 126-page report, Locating HMB Endeavour, into the 25-year journey to positively identify the ship's resting place
Authors Kieran Hosty and James Hunter state: "This report outlines the archival and archaeological evidence that confirms the identification of the shipwreck site of Lord Sandwich, formerly HMB Endeavour... and at the same time discounts any of the other investigated shipwreck sites as that of James Cook's renowned ship of exploration."
READ MORE: Let's not cancel Captain Cook: what history tells us of the great navigator
Ms Daryl Karp AM, director and CEO of the museum, said, "This Final Report is the culmination of 25 years of detailed and meticulous archaeological study on this important vessel.
"It has involved underwater investigation in the US and extensive research in institutions across the globe. This Final Report marks our definitive statement on the project."
The positive identification was based on a 'preponderance of evidence' approach. An agreement between RIMAP and the Sydney Museum established 10 key criteria needed to positively identify the wreck.
The museum is now satisfied that those criteria match Cook's ship, launched in Whitby, North Yorkshire in 1764, originally named the Earl of Pembroke.
Work by the museum positively identified the precise part of the ship on which they were diving and led them to identify the stump of a pump shaft used to pump water out of the bottom of the hull.
Hunter said: "RIMAP maintained that all ships scuttled prior to the Battle of Rhode Island had their bows facing north, but notes that didn't make sense because of prevailing southerly winds and swell that are characteristic of Newport Harbour in August. They would have been easier to prepare for scuttling with their bows facing south into the wind and waves.
"I'd acquired high-resolution scans of the Endeavour plans from 1768. I superimposed them over my site plan with the bow facing north, but it didn't work. So, I swung the site plan around in Photoshop, and multiple hull features lined up. I couldn't believe it."
Dr Kathy Abbas, however, one of two principal investigators at RIMAP, refuses to acknowledge that the ship is Endeavour.
Her report, released last November, states: "Some details are consistent with the possibility that she could be HMB Endeavour, but there has been nothing found to refute or confirm the identification of this site as that iconic vessel."
The impasse, Hunter says, is delaying further research. He suggests bringing one of the ship's cannons to the surface to compare it with one jettisoned by Cook when he ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef in June 1770 (now on display at the Museum).
Endeavour originally had 10 four-pounder cannons. Six in total were abandoned to raise the ship in the water when it grounded and there are four lying inside the surviving lower hull. It is, however, possible the cannons were changed as the ship was later deployed in different roles.
"RIMAP has always had the concept that you have to find an artifact with a name on it or something compelling like a ship's bell," says Hunter. RIMAP is looking for a 'gold nugget' artefact.
"They have the gold nugget artefact. It's the hull. But they're still not over the line. They're still not saying: 'Yeah, you guys have got it right.'"
Marine archaeologist Nigel Erskine, former museum archaeologist who first dived on the wrecks in Rhode Island in 2004, is convinced the identification is correct.
He said of Dr Abbas: "She wants something, a bit like Shackleton's vessel [Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton's ship Endurance was found in 2022] with great preservation and the name still intact across the stern, you couldn't miss it. But that's not the case with this vessel, or any of the others there in Rhode Island."
Report co-author Kieran Hosty said preservation of the site remained a priority.
"The development of a conservation management plan in association with the state authorities regarding management of the site would be a good move."
He said he had great respect for Dr Abbas as a historian.
"Dr Abbas has done some amazing work in Newport on the shipwrecks there," he said.
"But I think she's incorrect in her premise that it's not the Endeavour."
Daryl Karp added: "We want to acknowledge the work of the museum's archaeological team over the past 25 years, the work of Dr Kathy Abass in Rhode Island, the Rhode Island authorities, and the many subject specialists who have provided expert information and guidance over the years."
The writer is a contractor for the Australian Maritime Museum
It was early afternoon in September 2017 when Australian National Maritime Museum maritime archaeologist Dr James Hunter took his first dive on the shipwreck lying in 13 metres of murky water at Newport Harbour in Rhode Island.
He was joined by two local divers from the Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project (RIMAP). They were underwater for just 20 minutes.
"We just went down and swam around," says Hunter. "I saw two cannons sitting on the seabed. The visibility wasn't great. We were looking at it for the first time and realised: 'Wow, there's a lot here.'"
They were diving amongst a graveyard of British 18th-century transport ships scuttled by the British to blockade Newport Harbour in August 1778 during the American War of Independence.
What they were looking at was the shipwreck RI 2394 - now positively identified by the Museum as HMB Endeavour (later renamed Lord Sandwich), the ship used by Lieutenant James Cook on his discovery of Australia in 1770.
Their findings are part of the Australian National Maritime Museum's final 126-page report, Locating HMB Endeavour, into the 25-year journey to positively identify the ship's resting place
Authors Kieran Hosty and James Hunter state: "This report outlines the archival and archaeological evidence that confirms the identification of the shipwreck site of Lord Sandwich, formerly HMB Endeavour... and at the same time discounts any of the other investigated shipwreck sites as that of James Cook's renowned ship of exploration."
READ MORE: Let's not cancel Captain Cook: what history tells us of the great navigator
Ms Daryl Karp AM, director and CEO of the museum, said, "This Final Report is the culmination of 25 years of detailed and meticulous archaeological study on this important vessel.
"It has involved underwater investigation in the US and extensive research in institutions across the globe. This Final Report marks our definitive statement on the project."
The positive identification was based on a 'preponderance of evidence' approach. An agreement between RIMAP and the Sydney Museum established 10 key criteria needed to positively identify the wreck.
The museum is now satisfied that those criteria match Cook's ship, launched in Whitby, North Yorkshire in 1764, originally named the Earl of Pembroke.
Work by the museum positively identified the precise part of the ship on which they were diving and led them to identify the stump of a pump shaft used to pump water out of the bottom of the hull.
Hunter said: "RIMAP maintained that all ships scuttled prior to the Battle of Rhode Island had their bows facing north, but notes that didn't make sense because of prevailing southerly winds and swell that are characteristic of Newport Harbour in August. They would have been easier to prepare for scuttling with their bows facing south into the wind and waves.
"I'd acquired high-resolution scans of the Endeavour plans from 1768. I superimposed them over my site plan with the bow facing north, but it didn't work. So, I swung the site plan around in Photoshop, and multiple hull features lined up. I couldn't believe it."
Dr Kathy Abbas, however, one of two principal investigators at RIMAP, refuses to acknowledge that the ship is Endeavour.
Her report, released last November, states: "Some details are consistent with the possibility that she could be HMB Endeavour, but there has been nothing found to refute or confirm the identification of this site as that iconic vessel."
The impasse, Hunter says, is delaying further research. He suggests bringing one of the ship's cannons to the surface to compare it with one jettisoned by Cook when he ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef in June 1770 (now on display at the Museum).
Endeavour originally had 10 four-pounder cannons. Six in total were abandoned to raise the ship in the water when it grounded and there are four lying inside the surviving lower hull. It is, however, possible the cannons were changed as the ship was later deployed in different roles.
"RIMAP has always had the concept that you have to find an artifact with a name on it or something compelling like a ship's bell," says Hunter. RIMAP is looking for a 'gold nugget' artefact.
"They have the gold nugget artefact. It's the hull. But they're still not over the line. They're still not saying: 'Yeah, you guys have got it right.'"
Marine archaeologist Nigel Erskine, former museum archaeologist who first dived on the wrecks in Rhode Island in 2004, is convinced the identification is correct.
He said of Dr Abbas: "She wants something, a bit like Shackleton's vessel [Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton's ship Endurance was found in 2022] with great preservation and the name still intact across the stern, you couldn't miss it. But that's not the case with this vessel, or any of the others there in Rhode Island."
Report co-author Kieran Hosty said preservation of the site remained a priority.
"The development of a conservation management plan in association with the state authorities regarding management of the site would be a good move."
He said he had great respect for Dr Abbas as a historian.
"Dr Abbas has done some amazing work in Newport on the shipwrecks there," he said.
"But I think she's incorrect in her premise that it's not the Endeavour."
Daryl Karp added: "We want to acknowledge the work of the museum's archaeological team over the past 25 years, the work of Dr Kathy Abass in Rhode Island, the Rhode Island authorities, and the many subject specialists who have provided expert information and guidance over the years."
The writer is a contractor for the Australian Maritime Museum
It was early afternoon in September 2017 when Australian National Maritime Museum maritime archaeologist Dr James Hunter took his first dive on the shipwreck lying in 13 metres of murky water at Newport Harbour in Rhode Island.
He was joined by two local divers from the Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project (RIMAP). They were underwater for just 20 minutes.
"We just went down and swam around," says Hunter. "I saw two cannons sitting on the seabed. The visibility wasn't great. We were looking at it for the first time and realised: 'Wow, there's a lot here.'"
They were diving amongst a graveyard of British 18th-century transport ships scuttled by the British to blockade Newport Harbour in August 1778 during the American War of Independence.
What they were looking at was the shipwreck RI 2394 - now positively identified by the Museum as HMB Endeavour (later renamed Lord Sandwich), the ship used by Lieutenant James Cook on his discovery of Australia in 1770.
Their findings are part of the Australian National Maritime Museum's final 126-page report, Locating HMB Endeavour, into the 25-year journey to positively identify the ship's resting place
Authors Kieran Hosty and James Hunter state: "This report outlines the archival and archaeological evidence that confirms the identification of the shipwreck site of Lord Sandwich, formerly HMB Endeavour... and at the same time discounts any of the other investigated shipwreck sites as that of James Cook's renowned ship of exploration."
READ MORE: Let's not cancel Captain Cook: what history tells us of the great navigator
Ms Daryl Karp AM, director and CEO of the museum, said, "This Final Report is the culmination of 25 years of detailed and meticulous archaeological study on this important vessel.
"It has involved underwater investigation in the US and extensive research in institutions across the globe. This Final Report marks our definitive statement on the project."
The positive identification was based on a 'preponderance of evidence' approach. An agreement between RIMAP and the Sydney Museum established 10 key criteria needed to positively identify the wreck.
The museum is now satisfied that those criteria match Cook's ship, launched in Whitby, North Yorkshire in 1764, originally named the Earl of Pembroke.
Work by the museum positively identified the precise part of the ship on which they were diving and led them to identify the stump of a pump shaft used to pump water out of the bottom of the hull.
Hunter said: "RIMAP maintained that all ships scuttled prior to the Battle of Rhode Island had their bows facing north, but notes that didn't make sense because of prevailing southerly winds and swell that are characteristic of Newport Harbour in August. They would have been easier to prepare for scuttling with their bows facing south into the wind and waves.
"I'd acquired high-resolution scans of the Endeavour plans from 1768. I superimposed them over my site plan with the bow facing north, but it didn't work. So, I swung the site plan around in Photoshop, and multiple hull features lined up. I couldn't believe it."
Dr Kathy Abbas, however, one of two principal investigators at RIMAP, refuses to acknowledge that the ship is Endeavour.
Her report, released last November, states: "Some details are consistent with the possibility that she could be HMB Endeavour, but there has been nothing found to refute or confirm the identification of this site as that iconic vessel."
The impasse, Hunter says, is delaying further research. He suggests bringing one of the ship's cannons to the surface to compare it with one jettisoned by Cook when he ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef in June 1770 (now on display at the Museum).
Endeavour originally had 10 four-pounder cannons. Six in total were abandoned to raise the ship in the water when it grounded and there are four lying inside the surviving lower hull. It is, however, possible the cannons were changed as the ship was later deployed in different roles.
"RIMAP has always had the concept that you have to find an artifact with a name on it or something compelling like a ship's bell," says Hunter. RIMAP is looking for a 'gold nugget' artefact.
"They have the gold nugget artefact. It's the hull. But they're still not over the line. They're still not saying: 'Yeah, you guys have got it right.'"
Marine archaeologist Nigel Erskine, former museum archaeologist who first dived on the wrecks in Rhode Island in 2004, is convinced the identification is correct.
He said of Dr Abbas: "She wants something, a bit like Shackleton's vessel [Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton's ship Endurance was found in 2022] with great preservation and the name still intact across the stern, you couldn't miss it. But that's not the case with this vessel, or any of the others there in Rhode Island."
Report co-author Kieran Hosty said preservation of the site remained a priority.
"The development of a conservation management plan in association with the state authorities regarding management of the site would be a good move."
He said he had great respect for Dr Abbas as a historian.
"Dr Abbas has done some amazing work in Newport on the shipwrecks there," he said.
"But I think she's incorrect in her premise that it's not the Endeavour."
Daryl Karp added: "We want to acknowledge the work of the museum's archaeological team over the past 25 years, the work of Dr Kathy Abass in Rhode Island, the Rhode Island authorities, and the many subject specialists who have provided expert information and guidance over the years."
The writer is a contractor for the Australian Maritime Museum