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Guns from the 'Endeavour'
by
R. C. Sharman, B.A. *
[Note: The author acknowledges his debt to Mr Vince Vlasoff,
Master of the recovery vessel Tropic Seas, for many of the facts
relating to the successful recovery operation mounted by the
Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia in 1969, and to its
completion by the Commonwealth Government using M.V.
Wallach.]
*
*
*
In seeking to promote more accurate, objective historical research
the archivist is almost always concerned with the problem of
locating documentary sources which will inform research workers
as to what actually happened in the past. The historian, being
the other partner in this project of reconstructing the events of
yesteryear (or even yesterday), is concerned not only to discover
what actually happened but also to make generalizations about
the past. Like the archivist he is interested in the problem of
locating written evidence of past events, but he also seeks to
reconstruct from the nation's heritage of paper and pen some
picture of the lives of the characters who ordered the sequencf'
of the events he is studying, and some of the circumstances which
can be designated the causes of those events. In pursuing such
a sophisticated study, however, the historian must be prepared to
consult, not only the documentary evidence of what took place,
but also whatever else has survived as the tangible "remains"
of the period he is studying. Documentary sources are likely, of
course, to constitute the prime fount of knowledge, at least for
any study of the modern period in history, but the manner of
their use will vary as the search proceeds. At one stage in the
search they will acquaint the historian about the actual sequence
of events; at another they will enable the historian to know
where to go to locate those other pieces of evidence \\'ithout
which the full story could never be told.
The community is fairly well informed of the value of the
study of artifacts for an understanding of prehistoric times:
archaeology is well established as a science and is a popular
field of reading for the layman. The study of artifacts of a more
recent period, however, is not so well developed, and seems
to occupy a no-man's-land between museum curatorship and
* Archives Officer, Research School of Social Sciences Australian
National University.
'
technological history. To acquaint himself with the importance
of this branch of study the historian must be prepared to take
advantage of technical knowledge, and his efforts to evaluate
non-documentary sources of information will be facilitated if he
can enlist to his aid the latest in scientific knowledge. The
search for the guns thrown overboard from the Endeavour
provides an interesting example of the partnership between history
and the physical sciences.
The events which led to the jettisoning of six guns at
Endeavour Reef are well known, and only the briefest details
need to be given to set the scene for the events which are
the subject of this article. On the night of 11 June 1770, at
11 o'clockl, the bark Endeavour struck a reef about 13 miles
off the coast of what is now Queensland, north, and slightly
east, of Cape Tribulation; as far as can be gathered from Cook's
journal, the location was about 150 47' South latitude, and
145 0 36' 45" East longitude. The ship was not making much
water but was bumping hard, and in the morning Cook ordered
the jettisoning of condemned stores, pig-iron and stone ballast,
and six guns (all they had on deck) , in an effort to lighten
her. Even so, the Endeavour was stuck on the reef for over
twenty-three hours, for it was not until 10.20 p.m. on 12 June
that she floated off. To reduce the amount of water she was
taking, a sail was sewn with hair, oakum and wool, and passed
under her bows to "fother" the hole; thanks to this emergency
treatment the ship was in a fit condition to make for the nearest
natural harbour. In the event, the Endeavour took refuge at a
river which they named after the bark, and remained there, at
the site of the later town of Cooktown, from 18 Tune until
5 August, during which time the vessel was beached, and her
damaged timbers replaced and repaired. Upon leaving the
Endeavour River the ship negotiated, with difficulty, the
remaining hazards of the reef-strewn channel, and made for open
water through Cook's Passage, just north of Lizard Island. The
rest of the story needs no re-telling for the purposes of this
article.
In the century which followed, it is unlikely that any serious
attempt was made to locate the guns; such an expedition could
only have been mounted by people having local knowledge, and
a base of operations within reasonable distance of the reef.
Except for the harbour of refuge established at Somerset on the
tip of Cape York Peninsula in the 1860s, white settlement did
Queensland Heritage
Page Twenty-three
not extend far enough north up the Queensland coast prior to
1870 to provide these conditions. In fact, it was not until the
Endeavour River was chosen as the port for the Palmer River
goldfields in 18732, and the town of Cooktown established, that
a settlement any closer than Cardwell was available. In addition,
a successful search could only have been undertaken if a written
record had been available to reveal the position of the reef on
which the Endeavour had grounded. Hawkesworth's Account3
was the standard work at the time, but it is doubtful if the
primitive northern ports of the Colony would have boasted a copy.
Indeed, there is evidence that, when a search for the guns was
being organized in 1886, those responsible were hazy as to the
exact dates of Cook's visit to the Endeavour River, for they stated
that he careened his vessel there on 17 May 1770, some five
weeks before the actual event.
It is likely that efforts which were made in 1886 and 1887 to
locate the guns were the first of any consequence, and it is
necessary to enter into the details of this early attempt, in order
to point the contrast with the later, successful attempt, which
of course made use of much more sophisticated equipment.
The year 1886, from many points of view, marked the apex
of Cooktown's development. Amongst other organizations, the
town boasted a Working Men's Progress Association, whose
Secretary was Demosthenes Palmer. During the year, the
Government laid the foundation of the impressive Captain Cook
memorial which still stands in the main street of Cooktown,
near the site where the Endeavour was careened4. The Working
Men's Progress Association seems to have been active in urging
that the memorial be erected and conceived the idea that
its base should be embellished by placing thereat the six guns
that Cook jettisoned some 116 years earlier. On 26 February
1886 Demosthenes Palmer, writing on behalf of the Progress
Association, forwarded a petition to the Governor of Queensland
( Sir Anthony Musgrave) for transmission to the Lords
Commissioners of the Admiralty in Londons. Palmer, in a covering
note to Musgrave, commented that the Government was about to
erect the Cook monument and that the Association wanted to
"reclaim and bring to light [the guns] as living mementoes of
one of the Greatest Navigators that ever sailed under the orders
of the British Admiralty". The Association had offered a reward
of £300 for the discovery of the guns. The request in the petition
to the Admiralty was two-fold:1. That the Association should have the right to the guns,
should they be recovered; and
2. That the Admiralty should provide full information as
to where the guns might be located.
Musgrave was sympathetic to the request. In a despatch to the
Secretary of State, the Earl Granville, he enclosed copies of the
correspondence and gave it as his opinion that the objects of
the Association were "of a laudable character" 6.
Granville's reply was received in September, and in it he
conveyed the approval of the Home Government to the proposition
that the guns, if located, should be transferred to the government
of Queensland. Enclosed was a memorandum from W. J. L.
Wharton, the Hydrographer at the Admiralty, which attempted
to furnish sufficient information to enable the Working Men's
Progress Association to locate the guns. Wharton was later to
be the editor of the version of Captain Cook's journal accepted
as standard for many years, and it is possible that even at that
early stage he was preparing his edition. His reply gives at least
a hint that he had made a close study of Cook's account of the
east coast of New South Wales7.
Memorandum respecting the position of the guns thrown
overboard by Captain Cook from the "Endeavour" in 1770.
Coral encrusted cannon as raised from the sea bed.
Page Twenty-four
Queensland Heritage
It is I fear not possible to give a very exact position for
the spot where Captain Cook when aground in the
"Endeavour" in 1770 threw his guns overboard.
The distance of the reef from the mainland of Australia,
the absence of recorded bearings of the distant mountains
(which probably were obscured by haze) the small scale of
Cook's chart, and the fact that to this day the labyrinth
of shoals among which the "Endeavour" was stranded has
not been thoroughly examined, and that a large part of this
area is a blank, all combine to make such a determination
doubtful.
I have however, after a careful examination of Cook's
original journal, in the light of our present knowledge, come
to the conclusion that the "Endeavour" struck not far
from Latitude 15° 47' 00" Long 145° 36' 45" E. on the
South Eastern side of the reef partly shown on Admiralty
Chart No 2351, ( ... ) and marked "Endeavour Reef". The
name "Endeavour Reef" has been for some years attached
to the reef next north of this, but an examination of the
grounds for this convinces me that it was so placed under
a misapprehension in 1848, and I have no hesitation in
altering it.
On the Chart herewith are shown two copies of portions of
original charts from the "Endeavour" showing so far as this
small scale permits, the shape of the reef, and the position
of the "Endeavour" aground.
The Guns would probably lie in not more than three
fathoms of water, but after the lapse of 116 years the branches
of coral will most likely have formed a screen round them.
All this information was conveyed to the Working Men's
Progress Association, but a slight contretemps occurred when
Palmer on their behalf took umbrage at the transfer of the
guns "to the Government of Queensland". In a letter to the
Premier, Sir Samuel Griffith, of 25 October 1886 Palmer claimed
that the correspondence should have gone direct from Westminster
to the Association; it was the Association which had offered the
reward of £300, and if found the guns should go to Cooktown,
to be placed at the base of the monument. "We should be
glad if you will kindly explain how it is that our correspondence
with the British Admiralty has got mixed up with that of the
Queensland Government", added Palmer somewhat naively.
Cannon after completion of the preservation treatment.
He completed his letter with a request for an' opportunity to
consult "Hawksworth's account", for if he could refresh his
memory as to the minor details of the stranding it would enable
him to fix upon the spot with accuracy9.
The Colonial Treasurer, James R. Dickson, sought further
advice from Portmaster Heath, and Mackay was asked for an
opinion as to how the guns could be located. On 11 July 1887
Mackay wrote again, this time suggesting that if the Cooktown
Working Men's Progress Association would re-offer the reward,
there would be plenty of beche-de-mer fishermen who would
;lttempt to locate the guns. The Progress Association could not
be tempted - perhaps by this time they had perceived that
Cooktown had little likelihood of experiencing much more
progress and Mackay made another attempt in November
1887. No copy of his last report on this subject is available,
but from registry entries in the Colonial Treasurer's correspondence
record book it is clear that it was received on 2 December 1887,
and shown to Sir Samuel Griffith the same day. Griffith noted
the file "Capt Mackay appears to have done all that can reasonably
be done. I do not think that any further action should be
taken"lo.
Wharton considered that the 1886/7 attempt was sufficiently
interesting to merit a footnote in his edition of Cook's journal,
published in 1893", but from then until comparatively recent
times the efforts of the working men of Cooktown and the
Queensland Government were forgotten; certainly by the time
the guns were finally located no-one recalled that the British
Admiralty had transferred property in them to the Queensland
Government, and the Government had agreed to present them
to Cooktown.
Griffith's reply was calculated to allay the fears of the working
men's organization in Cooktown. He pointed out that the
despatches had, in the normal manner, been exchanged between
Governor and Secretary of State, but that "The Govt will
be very glad to present the guns to Cooktown when found."e.
Despite this reassurance, for some reason the Association withdrew
its offer of a reward of £300 and seems to have left the matter
in the hands of public officials. Captain John Mackay, the
Harbour Master of Cooktown, received instructions from the
Portmaster, G. P. Heath, to search for the guns. On 8 June
1887 Mackay reported on his first search which had been
undertaken that same month. Part of his report reads:At low water, accompanied by the men I crossed the reef
to the S.E. point and noticed for the first time some detached
shoals running parallel to the S.W. edge which terminated
about two cables length from the point where the
"Endeavour" struck - Had she been further to leeward
she would have grounded on this patch as it is just awash
at low water with 6 fathoms between it and the main
reef . . . The edge of the reef consists of immense coral
boulders. Some large heaps were seen of un-even contour
into which we drove the iron bars, but with no success. We
also probed all along the reef but as a heavy swell rolls in,
even in calm weather it was difficult to observe at any depth.
It has not been possible to locate references to every attempt
to locate the guns; in fact no evidence can be located of any
efforts having been made between 1887 and 1960; and even
the attempts made in the 1960s are not well dommented. Vince
Vlasoff explained to the present writer that he visited the
Endeavour grounding site in 1960, and though he had good
weather and a team of six divers who carried out a visual
examination of the reef, the venture was not attended with
success. References exist to the setting out of an expedition in
August 1966, and to attempts made in 1967 and 196812, but
not a great deal of information is available about them. This
is not surprising, of course, for in general expeditions which
fail do not attract a great amount of publicity.
He went on to suggest that the best time for the search to
take place would be in November when north-east winds prevail,
and that South Sea Islanders should be engaged in the operation.
Success is a different matter, however, and to tell the story
of the expedition which finally located the guns it is necessary
to go back to the end of 1960 and early 1961, when Virgil
Queensland Heritage
Page Twenty-five
Kauffman, of Yardley, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. visited Australia as
President of Aero-Services Corporation, an enterprise whose
program was the location of minerals and oil in commercial
quantities by means of aerial survey. In this operation Kauffman
was using a magnetometer, an invention whose use in conjunction
with aerial surveys he had perfected. The magnetometer registers
minute variations in the magnetic field of the earth's crust, either
below water or on land. Kauffman visited, amongst other places,
the northern part of coastal Queensland, and in a brief respite
from his official duties, he took a fishing trip, early in 1961, off
the Queensland coast. He had, for this purpose, engaged Vlasoff
and the Tropic Seas. While anchored near Endeavour Reef
Vlasoff told him that they were near the spot where Cook and
the Endeavour had so nearly come to grief13. Kauffman was an
explorer in his own right, a member of the New York Explorers'
Club, and a great admirer of Captain James Cook. It was not
long before the possibility of recovering the guns became almost
an obsession in Kauffman's mind; what is more, it occurred
to him that if the guns were of iron the magnetometer would
be invaluable to the project.
The plan could not be put into operation immediately; his
dreams could only be realized when he had reached retiring age.
But Kauffman garnered information in the ensuing years; for
instance, he discovered from the British Museum that Cook's
guns had been of iron construction; the magnetometer, therefore,
would work. He linked up with Brigadier-General AHred L.
WoH, a lawyer of Philadelphia, who shared Kauffman's interest
in aviation. The two men eventually approached the Academy of
Natural Sciences in Philadelphia with a view to the setting up
of an expedition which would have two purposes - the location
of the Endeavour guns (a project somewhat outside the normal
field of interest of the Academy) and the collection of thousands
of specimens of Barrier Reef fish. Dr James c. Tyler, a member
of the expedition which was eventually approved, and the Associate
Curator of Ichthyology at the Academy, had this to say of the
fish-collecting aspect:
The fish research had many aspects, for two independent
researchers were involved. Both had their own programmes
to pursue along with helping each other and the jetsam
recovery work. For myseH, I wished to make a general
representative collection of Barrier Reef fish to complement
numerous collections from the Indo-Pacific already at the
Academy, for Barrier Reef fish are relatively poorly
represented in major museum collections of the world, except,
of course, that of the Australian Museum....
My ichthyological colleague on the expedition, Dr C. Lavett
Smith, of the American Museum in New York, concentrated
on sampling the diversity of species in the various types of
reef structure and ecological niches. . . . Dr Smith samples
the species composition of the fish community and the
numbers of individuals per species in every major subdivision
of the reef. He also does repetitive sampling at the same
spot on the same reef at various time intervals, ranging
from 6 hours to 6 days or longer, in order to analyse
re-invasion of the reef area. . . . 14
During 1968, the planning of the venture proceeded smoothly.
Kauffman wrote to Vlasoff in June of that year, announcing that
it was likely that the expedition would be under way in the
early months of 1969. In September Tyler made a visit to
Australia to find out the answers to the dozens of questions
that the American planning committee were asking. Mrs WoH,
wife of the Brigadier-General who had teamed up with Kauffman
as a co-sponsor, called on Vlasoff at about the same time,
during the course of a world trip which took in Australia.
Vlasoff's 50-feet diesel-powered launch, the Tropic Seas was
be hired for the venture, and her owner-master was
commissioned to handle the Australian end of the arrangements,
including the requisitioning of provisions and equipment. Lifting
to
Page Twenty-six
Queensland Heritage
equipment with a capacity of one ton was fitted to the stern
of the Tropic Seas. It was also planned to use a helicopter,
leased from the Australian firm Rotorwork, to run over the
course in the air, trailing the magnetometer, but in the event
this aircraft arrived too late for this part of the operation. It
was used instead to make quick trips from the depot, on Little
Hope Island, to the mainland, and for some aerial photography.
The Hope Islands are about five miles north-west of the western
end of Endeavour Reef, and were sighted and named by Captain
Cook; a base camp was established on Little Hope and it was
fitted up as a helipad.
The expedition consisted of the following:Mr Virgil Kauffman, promoter, and leader of the expedition;
Brigadier-General WoH, co-promoter, who took an active
part in the under-water diving and recovery operations;
Dr James c. Tyler, ichthyologist, who handled. business
operations and was responsible for reporting to the Academy
of Natural Sciences;
Dr C. Lavett Smith, ichthyologist;
Mr Kenneth Myers, magnetometer operator, of Seaborne
Electronics, New Orleans;
Mr Griscom Bettle, of Philadelphia, a high-speed railway
engineer, who was operations manager and diver;
Mr Alfred Bertolet, reserve pilot.
The Australian members were as folows:Mr
Mr
Mr
Mr
Vince Vlasoff, master of the Tropic Seas;
Charles ("Chuck") Jackson, cook;
Michael Mansfield, deck-hand;
Allan Gill, camp commander, Little Hope Island.
The party set out on 1 January 1969, and at first bad weather
seemed likely to condemn the project to failure; on the second
and third day, rain fell constantly, and the party wondered
whether or not the rainy season had arrived early. But after
the third day the weather cleared, and almost perfect conditions
ensued, with a few thunder storms visible round the hills of
the mainland in the evenings. Endeavour Reef is in two sections,
the western one, with a steep drop from reef to deep sea at its
south-eastern end, runs more or less north-west and south-east.
The eastern section runs approximately east and west. The
searchers set out to eliminate some of the less productive areas,
pending the arrival of the helicopter, which they thought would
be essential for the main magnetometer search. In the meantime,
they could use a fibre-glass boat and trail the magnetometer
behind that.
For the main search, it was necessary to mark out parallel
lines across the search area with marker buoys, the lines being
approximately 50 feet apart, and buoys being dropped at 75
yard intervals along those lines. The boat would then follow
along the rows of marker buoys, and should the magnetometer
give a reading suggesting the presence of metal, the personnel
on board would push a special marker buoy over the side, so
enabling a more careful examination of the readings in that
spot. For the preliminary run-through over the western section
of the reef marker buoys were not necessary, for the edge of
the reef was quite distinct, and the boat made runs parallel
with this edge. A slight response was recorded on the
magnetometer in this area, but the operators were convinced
it was nothing larger than the fragments of an exploded war-time
mine.
On the eastern side the searchers had to contend with the
large boulders of coral of which Captain Mackay had spoken
some eighty-two years earlier. There was a need for the thorough
marking out of the area with buoys. Vlasoff was engaged on
this work on 7 January, when Myers and BettIe reported a
response on the magnetometer which convinced them that they
had found the guns. Meanwhile, the Tropic Seas had gone out
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Site of the grounding of H.M.S. Elldeavour. Light stippling indicates sand holes, dark
stippling indicates coral structures that rise conspicuously. Visible jetsam is shaded solid
black. Question marks indicate probable locations of the two remaining cannon. The
approximate outline of the ship is conjectural.
of action through engine trouble, and while replacement parts
were on order, Vlasoff had arranged for Captain Kevin Lamberton
to bring his craft the Nancy E into the operations area, to act
as substitute mother ship.
There was great excitement amongst all members of the party
when the news spread. The Nancy E was signalled to approach
the site, and almost all members of the party donned snorkels
and face masks and dived down to see the place where the
special marker buoy had been dropped. The concrete block of
the marker buoy had fallen within a few feet of what was
obviously one of the Endeavour guns! Vlasoff chiselled off some
of the coral which coveted the gun (about seven-eighths was
buried) and revealed without any doubt that it was a gun. Nearby
the straight outline of some iron ballast could be seen, and more
pig-iron and stone ballast were close at hand.
There was general agreement that no announcement should
be made of the find. The jetsam was lying in about 12 feet
of water, and the possibility of interference by inquisitive
sight-seers could not be ruled out. Furthermore, the discovery
belonged to the Academy of Natural Sciences, though the artifacts
themselves might possibly be claimed by the Australian
Government. While fine weather lasted the expedition wanted
to make as much progress as possible, without interference from
people watching from the side-lines.
From the moment of discovery, the party knew that there
would no longer be any need for marker buoys; however, the
magnetometer still had a part to play, for it was effective in
locating fairly precisely where the individual metal objects lay
within the dump site. In this work, the job was done from a
boat, and Bettle would swim round under water, in communication
with the magnetometer operator by underwater telephone,
investigating any area where "ferro-magnetic anomalies" were
reported. Frequently the divers would not be able to see anything
whatever in the spots where the magnetometer operator advised
a careful search, but ultimately it would be discovered, by dint
of hard chiselling and shovelling, that the guns were where the
"anomalies" gave the clue. The second gun was thus discovered
soon after the first, and a few days later Wolf located the third
one. By 14 January the fourth cannon was located, but in the
meantime the decision had been reached to hand the site over
to the Australian authorities. Though the fifth and sixth cannon
had been located by means of the magnetometer, it had not been
possible to identify them visually. There were tremendous
difficulties in the under-water work, for once the divers started
to chip away at coral the suspended fragments and tiny particles
Queenslalld Heritage
Page TweJlt~'-seI'l?PI
floated round in the water in front of their eyes, and work had
to be done "blind". Vlasoff had meanwhile lifted some of the
guns, and other items from the site, on to the Tropic Seas, and
shipped them across to Little Hope Island, where they were
placed on the sea bottom in shallow water so that they would
not deteriorate through exposure to the atmosphere. Kauffman
and Bertolet flew to Cairns to report the finding to the Australian
Government and to ensure that the Regional Director for
Queensland of the Department of Shipping and Transport (W.
Douglas, who also acts as Receiver of Wrecks for Queensland)
was informed of the find. The news spread across the globe
for the New York Times of 13 January carried a story on the find.
Arrangements were made for all the recovered items to be
transferred from Little Hope Island to Cairns in the light-house
vessel Wallach; by the end of the stage covering the Americans'
part in the venture, all four guns and a good deal of iron and
stone ballast had been lifted by the Tropic Seas. Douglas visited
the site at Little Hope Island, and work proceeded on the
construction of special metal tanks to receive the guns at Cairns.
Meanwhile, the ichthyologists were anxious to press on with
their fishery research and to collect their specimens. Tyler and
Smith were using a rotenone-like fish toxicant which was taken
below the surface with the aid of scuba geatlS. The collectors
squeezed small quantities of this toxicant into a limited area and
collected the stunned fish with nets. By these means, no permanent
damage was done to any aspect of the reef or to other fish in
the area - within an hour or so, the toxicant was sufficiently
dispersed to enable other fish to move into the previously affected
area without coming to harm. From 17 January till the end of
that month the fish-collecting part of the party's program
occupied their time, and fish were collected at various points
from the coast to the outer reef. Between 30,000 and 40,000
,pecimens were collected.
Vlasoff and the Tropic Seas were involved in the second stage
of the recovery operation, having been engaged by the Receiver
of Wrecks to complete a job which had been competently begun
by the Americans. J. Andersen, a diver employed by the Cairns
Harbour Board, was engaged as chief diver, and Colin Cooke as
second diver; Peter McIntyre was cook and Roger Steene
deck-hand. Arrangements were made with the Australian
Broadcasting Commission for some of the lifting operations to
be filmed, and the Commission's camera crew were at the Cairns
wharf when the Tropic Seas set out on 8 February for the wreck
site. The Motor Vessel Wallach was sighted just out of Trinity
Bay, and the master of that vessel, Len Foxcroft, advised Vlasoff
that he was going to Cairns to obtain a special pump by which
the fragmented coral and suspended sand could be removed from
the water where the divers were operating, so enabling their
operations to be carried out with greater ease. On the first night,
the Tropic Seas anchored near the Pickersgill Reef, and next
morning reached the Endeavour Reef. Of eight marker buoys
the search party had driven into the rocks below water level on
~he completion of the first stage, four had disappeared, but the
recovery party had no trouble in locating the site. On 10
February some blasting was carried out, using gelignite, to remove
some of the coral heads that were above the site indicated by
the magnetometer reading. As the pump to be used for clearing
away the suspended fragments had not arrived, work was
difficult and was certainly not made any easier by the presence
of myriads of transparent jelly-fish near the surface. Fortunately
these creatures did not like the cooler temperatures of the sea
floor but collected in a great mass from about 2 feet from the
surface, to the surface itself, and as the divers passed through
them they received stings to any exposed parts of their skin.
Vlasoff was working on one "ballast rock" during the morning,
and in the afternoon Andersen discovered this to have been the
fifth gun. There was thus only one more to be found. A call
was put through to the Australian Broadcasting Commission so
that the camera crew could call at the site the next day to
film the lifting of the gun.
Page Twenty-eight
Queensland Heritage
On 11 February the crew had a long wait for the expected
A.B.C. cameramen. Apparently the boat master had more
difficulty in locating the reef than James Cook experienced. In
a somewhat roundabout journey the boat had travelled to the
outer reef and had made many fruitless sweeps before locating
the Tropic Seas, coming dangerously near to running out of fuel.
The camera crew, in fact, having left Cooktown at 5.00 a.m., did
not arrive at the site till 1.00 p.m. The lifting of the gun then
followed, interrupted at many points as the cameramen signalled
instructions. Vlasoff filmed the underwater scenes while the
A.B.C. men covered the operation from the top. On the following
day the Wallach arrived, but it was soon clear that this vessel
could not work close enough to the dump site for the pig-iron
and other ballast to be lifted directly on to her deck. The master
had no desire to suffer the same fate as the Endeavour, and it
was finally decided to lift the jetsam on to the Tropic Seas,
from which it would be lowered on to the working dinghy of
the Wallach; the light-house ship itself stood some 400 yards
off, and the salvaged material was then lifted on to the Wallach
from the dinghy. Foxcroft was assisted by a crew of Thursday
Islanders, who worked well and showed a keen interest in the
proceedings.
On 13 February the divers located the last of the guns. Working
now with the pump to remove suspended matter from the water
the divers could see what they were doing. Vlasoff recorded
his own impressions of this operation, and of an exciting event
that occurred under-water:Jack Anderson used the high power jet pump to blow the
water and dust through a long length of galvanised pipe
so that excavation could be carried out in clear water. The
result is quite spectacular as the clouds of billowing coral
dust rise like smoke from an industrial chimney. I loaded
the underwater camera and filmed the activity . . . I was
using the breathing apparatus and was under water at leisure.
The other two divers Cook and Steene had been looking
for ballast stones by free diving. They were searching among
the coral heads and locating an occasional one which would
have to be broken loose with a crow bar. While doing so
~hey ~ocated a seven-foot shark and annoyed it by pulling
~ts tall. Roger took some pictures. The shark pleased by
Its release and no doubt annoyed by its rough handling,
rushed off through the dust cloud made by Anderson crashed
into him and in so doing, opened his mouth and' grabbed
Jack on the left breast. I thought the worst had happened
but [as luck] would have it it caught a mouthful of clothing
and would not let go so Jack using his pick hammer
proceeded to hit it on the head. The shark did not like
this so it soon let go and escaped. I filmed the whole
sequence, and was pleased to have done SO.16
On 14 February (exactly 190 years to the day from the tragic
~urder of Cook by the Sandwich Islanders) the last gun was
hft~~ from the ocean floor. On the next day, there was feverish
a.CtlVlty, for the weather was blowing up rough. They had to
l1.ft whatever ball.ast they could find, and clear away from the
slte, for the TroPtc Seas was in danger of being carried on to the
out~ro~s of reef. An anchor broke loose as they were recalling
thelr dlvers? and the vessel was carried between some dangerous
reefs, and nght across the outlying one that the Endeavour struck.
As soon as the divers were on board they made every effort to
hold .the vessel with an anchor, and soon were under power,
escapmg from the danger and tying up to the Wallach for safety.
The rest .was somewhat in the nature of an anti-climax. No
more matenal. of any significance was recovered from the site.
Bad wea~her mterrupted the operation until 18 February, when
the Tropzc Seas went to Cooktown to .tiikeon board an iron rail
v:hic~, it had been decided, should be driven into the grounding
slte m order to mark it. On 22 February the vessel was back at
the Endeavour Reef, and after a fruitless search for more pig-iron
ballast, the iron rail was driven into the coral and rock to mark
the site of the dumping. On 23 and 24 February a further search
'"
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;!:
~
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~
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l:l..
'"'";:s
'";:s
i:l
o:::
'-I
.
ir
~~
JETSAM
--
O~
BAY
O~
BELOW
SHOULOER
,." HMOS
VA/DEli
L,.,'ue
L)(.i11t
p
t
1
oF-
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JETSAM
AREA
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'-.....PIC~r~ss/LL
olWER
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ECHO
-
..
V. V LA ~o Ft=.
MA oS T E R • TRoH~ SEIiS"
BY
CnoK5
FlIIO/It SOIJ7"H
CAPTAIN
JETSA", I\.REA
DE TAILS
R'PRORCH
II..P/ICT
C0lrAL HCAI>.S TO
~ , I , / S,,""ACE AT L.W:S.T.
SOuNDel
s
I
-I--
Plans drawn by Vince Vlasoff of the position of the cannon on the sea bed, together with
diagrams indicating bearings to mainland points.
/)I.JHP
t QAllAST
l1S _ _ ~
STONE DtJMP
PIG IRON
8ALLAST
CAPT COot
C"PI! TJii'IBIJLATION
AND
~~~
rOi l.oCATION OJ:
HOPt I!
PtlfK
~'
~
J:i:::E.~
"....--'~---:J
~
-
OJ,,'Ir/ftv Inro
POSITION OF CANNON
AND ,sAl.VAGE'
LAWDHAI2ItS
RillA. $PIKE
,.,"Rall
,..."COOK
REEI=
e.AS"t
eND~AvbUN
WEST END
WEST
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FIIVOING
RELATIVE
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II
(b) Individual markings on each gun:Letters embossed on
Nos.
Nos. chiselled at
Embossed chiselled on right angles and to trunnions (Figs. 5-7.)
the side of the
Cannon Monogram
breech
Right
Left
(Fig. 3.)
Monogram (Fig. 3.)
(Fig. 4.)
Two of the cannon were found loaded, ready for firing.
On the left is hemp wadding, in the middle a four
pounder cannon ball and on the right the gun powder
charge removed from one of the cannon.
was made, and a number of ballast rocks were recovered, but
the operation had been completed, and those involved in it were
due for a rest. The only item of any significance that was never
located was the small bower anchor which Captain Cook lost
when he was trying to winch the Endeavour off the reef.
The guns were transferred by road from Cairns to the Defence
Standards Laboratory in Melbourne, where under the direction of
Dr C. Pearson careful restoration and cleaning work was carried
out. Much to the surprise of all concerned, the armaments proved
capable of being restored to almost new condition. In the breech
of the cannon identified as "d" (see table below) a corroded ball
was discovered, about 4' 7" from the muzzle. It was 2.97" in
diameter, and 3lb 60z in weight. In the gun designated "b",
there was a lump of hemp wadding, followed by a ball and a
gunpowder charge. The ballast treated by the Defence Standards
Laboratory consisted of 9t tons of cast iron pigs in pieces 6"
square and between 9" and 36" long. There was also a sheet of
lead, approximately 2' long and 8" wide at the widest part. The
Defence Standards Laboratory also noted the fact that Radiography
had revealed a number of items that were lying on or near the
guns. These included wrought iron tie bolts, eye bolts, ring bolts,
rings and a trunnion clamp. Presumably these are all that
remain of the gun carriages17. The following table has been
supplied to give full particulars of the guns:
( a) General dimensions of all guns:Length (muzzle to cascabel)
6'
3t"
5' 1t"
Bore diameter
Bore length
Muzzle diameter
lOi"
Breech diameter
13t"
Trunnion length (from centre line of cannon)
Trunnion diameter
3 5/16"
1200 lbs approx.
Weight
All the guns have the Government Propery "Broad Arrow"
chiselled on the barrel.
Page Thirty
Queensland Heritage
a
Crowned
"GR2"
11-2-5
(1293 lbs)
13
Right of Monogram
G
Blank
b
Crowned
"GR2"
11-3-0
(1316 Ibs)
6
Right of Monogram
D
IC
c
Crowned
"GR2"
11-2-7
(1295 Ibs)
14
Right of Monogram
G
Blank
d
Crowned
"GR2"
11-2-15
(1303 Ibs)
2
Left of Monogram
D
IC
e
Crowned
"GR2"
11-2-21
(1309 lbs)
3
Left of Monogram
D
IC
f
Crowned
"GR2"
11-2-2
(1290 lbs)
12
Right of Monogram
G
Blank
In recognition of the enterprise, initiative, and hard work of
the men to whom the greatest credit should go, that is, the
citizens of the United States who organized the expedition, located
the guns, and attended to most of the recovery work, the Australian
Government decided to present one of the guns to the Academy
of Natural Sciences at Philadelphia, the body under whose auspices
the expedition was organized. Four other guns were distributed
as follows:one each to the Maritime Museum at Greenwich, England;
the Government of New Zealand;
the Government of Queensland;
the Government of New South Wales;
and one was retained by the Commonwealth. It is not yet
decided where the Australian Government's gun will be housed,
though it is understood that it will soon go on display in the
National Library, Canberra18.
*
*
*
So ends one of the more exciting stories in the history of the
recovery of "sunken treasure" in Australian waters. The operation
depended for its success on co-operation between historians,
scientists and technologists. It was undertaken because modern
explorers, with equipment perfected in an age of technology, had
financial resources and the opportunity to spend some weeks in
the Barrier Reef area in furtherance, not only of the recovery
project, but also of a scientific mission of a different kind. It
was as carefully planned in its own way as the original Cook
expedition. Its first conception and early planning depended as
much on the availability of documentary evidence as any other
project in historical research. Indeed, it was a perfect example of
the way in which scientists and historians, practical men of the
sea and enthusiastic amateur explorers, may work together in
order to achieve a triumph which has brought credit upon all
concerned.
REFERENCES
1. I have adopted the chronology explained by R. B. Joyce in
his article "Time and Captain Cook". Queensland Heritage,
vol. 2, no. 2 (May 1970). pp. 8-12.
2. S. E. Stephens. - "The Endeavour River and Cooktown".
Queensland Heritage, vol. 2, no. 2 (May 1970). p. 23.
3. ]. Cook. - An account of the voyages undertaken . .. for
making discoveries in the southern hemisphere and successively performed by Commodore Byron, Captain Wallis,
Captain Carteret and Captain Cook in the Dolphin, the
Swallow and the Endeavour, drawn up ... by John Hawkesworth. London, W. Strahan and T. Cadell, 1773.
4. An attractive picture of the monument is in V. Vlasoff.In Search of a Cannon,- and the finding of all six. Cairns, V.
Vlasoff, 1969. p. 43.
5. Working Men's Progress Association to Governor, 26
Feb 1886 [Q.S.A. GOV/ A 14 J.
6. Musgrave to Granville, no. 22, 9 Mar 1886 [copy in Q.S.A.
TRE/A 35, in-letter no. 2906 of 1887].
7. Filed as part of Treasury in-letter [Q.S.A. TRE/A 35,
in-letter no. 2906 of 1887].
8. Ibid. Letter of 23 Nov 1886 based on a minute of 20 Nov.
9. Ibid. Mackay's two letters, of 8 June and 11 Jul 1887.
10. Noted from the Treasury registers of letters received [Q.S.A.
TRE/B] .
11. J. Cook. - Captain Cook's journal during his first voyage
round the world made in H.M. Bark "Endeavour" 1768-71:
a literal transcription of the original MSS, with notes and
introduction. Capt. W. J. 1. Wharton [ed.]. London, E.
Stock, 1893. p. 277.
12. Vlasoff, op. cit. pp. 44 and 49.
13. ]. C. Tyler. - "The recovery of the 'Endeavour's' cannons";
in Australian Natural History, Dec 1969. pp. 281-8.
14. Ibid., p. 282.
15. Ibid.
16. Typescript account given by Vlasoff to the present writer.
17. Information kindly supplied by Dr C. Pearson, Physical
Chemistry Division, Defence Standards Laboratory, Maribyrnong, Melbourne.
18. Information kindly supplied by R. R. Schrader, Publicity
Officer of the Commonwealth Department of· Shipping and
Transport, Canberra.
Queensland Heritage
Page Thirty-one