Authorities almost certain a wreck off Newport is Captain Cook’s ship, The Endeavour
MARITIME experts have revealed more details about a wreck lying in a harbour off the US east coast which is believed to be Captain James Cook’s HMS Endeavour.
National
Don't miss out on the headlines from National. Followed categories will be added to My News.
THE Australian government is convinced the search for the Endeavour is over, and that the wreck lying at the bottom of Newport Harbour is that which Captain James Cook first sailed into Botany Bay.
Marine archaeologists have unveiled a wealth of evidence after an epic 25 year search for the ship, which disappeared from naval records for two centuries, until it was discovered to be one of a fleet of ships sunk during the American War of Independence.
“I think we can say with a great deal of confidence, based on everyone we’ve heard today that this is the resting place of the Endeavor here in Newport Harbor,” said Australia’s Consul General in New York, Alistair Walton today.
The joint team of searchers from the Australian National Maritime Museum and Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Program displayed only cautious optimism until further testing is undertaken on wood samples from the ship.
Searchers have worked through a process of elimination from 13 ships known to lie at the bottom of the harbour off Goat Island, Newport, down to a final potential two wrecks. They know the Endeavour was the largest of the scuttled ships, and 3D imaging had revealed one that fit its specifications.
“We are down to just one site”, RIMAP director Kathy Abbass said.
Mr Walton said: “When you have eliminated it down to one, with the evidence that we’ve seen, I think I am very convinced that we have her.”
The event was attended by several dozen people including researchers, Royal Australian Navy Commander Doug Theobold and Peter Dexter from the Australian National Maritime Museum, who described the finding as of huge cultural and historic significance.
“There’s obviously this great link with the UK and Australia, and America and Australia separately, but the thought that we would actually find the Endeavour in a harbour in the United States ,and part of the revolutionary war, is incredible,” Mr Walton said.
Marine archeologist Dr James Hunter from ANMM said it could be another year until testing confirms the identity of the wreck, after which the delicate process of possibly excavating parts would begin.
“We have our timber samples and data that we have recovered, we will have to go through that and assess that and all those little disparate parts are going to give just a much bigger picture and tell us whether we got Endeavour or not,” he said.
“If we have Endeavour well ideally it will be great to come back and do additional work. Excavations would be great but that takes a lot longer than if we were to leave it there,” he said.
He said he wasn’t yet convinced the hunt was over, despite headlines earlier this week that the ship was confirmed.
“When I say those headlines I was a bit caught off guard, I thought well, is it now?” he said.
“It’s tough because being an archeologist, I like facts, I like certainty,
“But this feels good. I just don’t think I will be able to say it until I see the data.”
Research boat operator and archeologist Greg deAscentias has been diving the wrecks in Newport Harbour for more than 20 years, and he described the trying conditions, including sub-freezing water in winter and many days where visibility is less than a metre.
He said it was a thrill to be possibly be part of a discovery involving “one of the greatest explorers of all time”.
“For me the work is all about finding something new and unknown, the discovery part of it, and helping to open it up to the world,” he said.
Originally published as Authorities almost certain a wreck off Newport is Captain Cook’s ship, The Endeavour