Experts dispute Endeavour discovery
<p>Two international groups are at odds over the authenticity of the Australian National Maritime Museum's (ANMM) controversial announcement that it has found the <em>HMB Endeavour</em>.</p><p>The ANMM says the 22-year search for Captain Cook's ship has ended with confirmation its submerged wreckage was found in Newport Harbour in the US state of Rhode Island. </p><p>However, the museum and its research partners the Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project (RIMAP) who conducted the search have said the announcment came prematurely.</p><p>Author and Captain Cook biographer Rob Mundle has said the disagreement between the two groups means it is too early to definitively say if the famous vessel has been located, even if the signs are promising. </p><p>"I think that if both sides don't come out as one, then we ain't got anything to be too excited about at the moment," Mr Mundle told <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-04/question-marks-over-endeavour-find-says-captain-cook-expert/100803474" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ABC Radio National</a>.</p><p>"There are certain elements there that would suggest that it's <em>Endeavour</em>, and there's nothing really to say that it's not <em>Endeavour</em>."</p><p>"But until we find something that says, 'Yes there is no doubt whatsoever that this is <em>Endeavour</em>', then I think there is a question mark hanging over it."</p><p>While Mr Mundle said most of the <em>Endeavour's</em> original materials would be lost to time, he believes that finding one of the distinguishing bricks used to keep heat in the ship's kicthen would be a sure sign of its identity. </p><p>"If someone came up with one those bricks, which you'd expect they would be able to, then I think that would be enough, I think, to confirm that it is Endeavour," he said.</p><p>Despite his claims, University of Sydney marine shipwreck expert Dr Natali Pearson has a "high degree of confidence" in the find, after working with the ANMM and its researchers. </p><p> </p><p>Dr Pearson believes that confirming the resting place of the "celebrity shipwreck" is the perfect opportunity to discuss the everlasting impact of the <em>Endeavour's</em> actions on Indigenous Australians. </p><p>"Of more value for historians and archaeologists, however, are wrecks that change how we understand the past, that shed new light on ancient trading networks or ship construction techniques, for example," she said.</p><p><em>The Endeavour</em> was originally launched as the <em>Earl of Pembroke</em> in 1764, before being renamed as the <em>Endeavour</em> by Britain's Royal Navy in 1768. </p><p>Over the next three years, the ship voyaged to the South Pacific, on an astronomical mission to record the transit of Venus in Tahiti, before reaching Australia.</p><p>The vessel lay forgotten for more than two centuries, after it was sold to private owners and later deliberately sunk by British forces in 1778.</p><p><em>Image credits: Australian National Maritime Museum</em></p>
