The final resting place of Captain Cook’s Endeavour, the legendary ship that first brought the British to Australia, has been identified after 250 years.
Between 1768 and 1771, the Endeavour became the first European vessel to reach Eastern Australia and circumnavigate New Zealand‘s main islands.
Yet while James Cook was established as one of history’s most famous explorers, his ship faded into obscurity, becoming a troop transport.
She was then sold in 1775, renamed the Lord Sandwich, and finally scuttled off the US coast in 1778, during the American War of Independence.
Now the sunken remains of the Endeavour have been found in Newport Harbor, Rhode Island, after experts formally identified her with a wreck called RI 2394.
The verdict was announced by the Australian National Maritime Museum (ANMM) in a new report, bringing 25 years of study to a close with a ‘definitive statement’.
Museum director Daryl Karp 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.
Sunken remains of the Endeavour have been found in Newport Harbor, Rhode Island, after experts formally identified her with a wreck called RI 2394
Cook spent six months exploring and mapping the coast of New Zealand and claimed the land for Britain before sailing west. In April 1770, people on the ship first spotted Australia, and on April 29 HMS Endeavour became the first European vessel to make landfall on its east coast
Between 1768 and 1771, the Endeavour became the first European vessel to reach Eastern Australia and circumnavigate New Zealand ‘s main islands
‘This final report marks our definitive statement on the project.’
Experts reached their conclusion after comparing the sunken ship with historical plans of the Endeavour.
They discovered timbers whose placement corresponds exactly with the locations of Endeavour’s main and fore masts.
Measurements from the wreck also correlated with those taken during a 1768 survey of Cook’s ship.
Furthermore, analysis of the wood revealed it had European origins, consistent with records of the Endeavour being repaired in 1776, several years after the expedition.
Collectively they represented a ‘preponderance of evidence’ that the Newport wreck was indeed the Endeavour.
ANMM archaeologist, Kieran Hosty, said: ‘The timbers are British timbers.
‘The size of all the timber scantlings are almost identical to Endeavour, and I’m talking within millimetres – not inches, but millimetres.
Analysis of the wood revealed it had European origins, consistent with records of the Endeavour being repaired in 1776
The verdict was announced by the Australian National Maritime Museum (ANMM) in a new report, calling it their ‘definitive statement’. Only around 15 per cent of the vessel remains with researchers now focused on what can be done to protect and preserve it
Experts reached their conclusion after comparing the sunken ship with historical plans of the Endeavour
‘The stem scarf is identical, absolutely identical. This stem scarf is also a very unique feature – we’ve gone through a whole bunch of 18th-century ships plans, and we can’t find anything else like it.’
The findings could prove controversial however; when ANMM released a preliminary report in 2022 identifying RI 2394 as the Endeavour, their research partners at the Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project (RIMAP) pushed back.
In a statement, RIMAP asserted that they were the lead organisation for the study, and that the finding was both ‘premature’ and a ‘breach of contract’ – but ANMM experts have seen enough.
Archaeologist James Hunter said: ‘The Lord Sandwich was intentionally scuttled – it was sunk on purpose as a block ship.
‘The chances of finding artifacts that would provide an immediate identification, such as a bell, were very unlikely. And that’s because anything that was of value would have been stripped out of that ship before it was sunk.
‘But what has been recovered up to this point is indicative of an 18th-century time frame.’
Mr Hosty added: ‘We’ll never find anything on this site that screams Endeavour. You’ll never find a sign saying ‘Cook was here’.
‘We will never see a ship’s bell with Endeavour crossed out and Lord Sandwich inscribed on it. ‘We’ve got a whole series of things pointing to RI 2394 as being HMB Endeavour.
James Cook’s world-famous ship ended up being sunk by the British military in an American harbour
When ANMM released a preliminary report in 2022 identifying RI 2394 as the Endeavour, their research partners at the Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project (RIMAP) pushed back
The Endeavour was a small ship – less than 100ft long – and housed a crew of around 100 sailors
‘And so far we found lots of things that tick the box for it to be Endeavour and nothing on the site which says it’s not.’
Only around 15 per cent of the vessel remains with researchers now focused on what can be done to protect and preserve it.
In a statement, ANMM acknowledged RIMAP’s ‘fine historical analysis and detailed artifact recording’.
The statement continued: ‘We acknowledge that RIMAP continues to accept that RI 2394 may be Endeavour, but they are not ruling out other candidate shipwreck sites.’
Ms Karp also acknowledged the work of the ANMM archaeological team, of Dr Kathy Abass in Rhode Island, and of the Rhode Island authorities.
RIMAP has been contacted for comment.
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