HMS Endeavour, The Ship Captain Cook Sailed To Australia In 1770, Has Been Pinpointed In The US

The final resting place of HMS Endeavour – the first European ship to reach the east coast of Australia – has been confirmed by the Australian National Maritime Museum.

In a new report, 26 years of historical and archaeological research has concluded that the shipwreck is located at a site called RI 2394, located on the muddy seabed of Newport Harbor in Rhode Island, USA.

In 1768, HMS Endeavour set sail from England under the command of Captain James Cook on a groundbreaking voyage. It was originally tasked with observing the transit of Venus in Tahiti, but it also had the objective of documenting "undiscovered southern land". Cook and his crew charted the coasts of New Zealand and eastern Australia for the first time, marking a major milestone in the European colonization of the region.

“For some, the Pacific voyage led by James Cook between 1768 and 1771 embodies the spirit of Europe’s Age of Enlightenment, while for others it symbolises the onset of colonisation and the subjugation of First Nations Peoples,” the report reads.

Upon its return to Britain, the ship was sold to a private owner and renamed Lord Sandwich. It later served in the American War of Independence, transporting British troops. As its condition deteriorated, it was eventually repurposed as a prison ship for American prisoners of war in Newport Harbor.

When the French blocked Narragansett Bay in 1778, the ship was intentionally scuttled with a dozen other wartime vessels. It fell to the seafloor, where it has remained ever since. 

The hunt for HMS Endeavour took flight in 1999 when the Australian National Maritime Museum teamed up with the Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project (RIMAP).

Marine archaeologists have previously suggested that RI 2394 was the correct location, but the report now offers a definitive conclusion.

Another site, called RI 2578, was also considered to be a likely candidate. While the shipwreck shares some similarities to Endeavour, it was eventually ruled out after a series of detailed investigations.

In 2022, the Australian National Maritime Museum announced that it had found the shipwreck at the 2394 site, but RIMAP denounced the identification as “premature”. In a sassy statement, the organization said: “RIMAP recognizes the connection between Australian citizens of British descent and the Endeavour, but RIMAP's conclusions will be driven by proper scientific process and not Australian emotions or politics.”

It’s not yet clear what RIMAP makes of this new announcement, but it’s "case closed" as far as the Australian National Maritime Museum is concerned.

“This Final Report marks our definitive statement on the project,” Daryl Karp AM, Director and CEO of the museum, said in a statement.

“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,” she added.