Dive Pacific Iss 171 Oct- Nov 2019
New Zealand's dive magazine featuring in this issue: Shooting big sharks, up close; Spearfishing at night!; Remembering a great Kiwi dive pioneer, Wade Doak; Forgotten Vanuatu wreck's claim to fame; The invasive Lionfish - in depth, plus all our expert columnists
New Zealand's dive magazine featuring in this issue: Shooting big sharks, up close; Spearfishing at night!; Remembering a great Kiwi dive pioneer, Wade Doak; Forgotten Vanuatu wreck's claim to fame; The invasive Lionfish - in depth, plus all our expert columnists
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INDEPTH EDITORIAL<br />
Tuia Encounters 250 - Time to celebrate!<br />
By Dave Moran - Editor at Large<br />
Twelve months ago, in the<br />
<strong>Oct</strong>ober/ <strong>Nov</strong>ember, <strong>Dive</strong> 166 we<br />
published an item on the possible<br />
discovery of Captain James Cook’s<br />
HMB Endeavour in the waters off<br />
Newport Rhode Island USA.<br />
At the time I expressed my disappointment<br />
to the Minister of Culture<br />
and Heritage, Jacinda Ardern, the<br />
Prime Minister, and her department’s<br />
lack of any positive interest<br />
in New Zealand putting its hand up<br />
as a country that had an interest<br />
in the wreck of arguably the most<br />
significant European ship to map<br />
New Zealand’s coastline and interact<br />
with various Maori iwi.<br />
As you know New Zealand is<br />
commemorating the meeting of<br />
Europeans and Maori from <strong>Oct</strong>ober<br />
through to December <strong>2019</strong>. The<br />
Government has allocated $13.5<br />
+ million to celebrate this historical<br />
meeting, though some New<br />
Zealanders would not use the word<br />
‘celebrate’!<br />
Australia is also in full production<br />
to mark this historical event in their<br />
history, allocating $60 million.<br />
In New Zealand, the intention is<br />
to bring to life the discovery of<br />
New Zealand by many great ocean<br />
navigators stretching back 700 plus<br />
years when Polynesian explorers<br />
arrived on our shores, and the later<br />
arrival 250 years ago of British<br />
explorer, Captain James Cook in<br />
1769.<br />
Interestingly a point that has<br />
been completely omitted by the<br />
mainstream media is that the<br />
French explorer, Captain Jean<br />
François Marie de Surville, was also<br />
mapping the coastline at the same<br />
time. Cook and de Surville were<br />
unaware of each other’s presence<br />
though they passed each other by<br />
approximately 20 nautical miles!<br />
Over the last 12 months the<br />
Australian Government and the<br />
Australian National Maritime<br />
Museum have been supporting the<br />
Rhode Island Marine Archaeology<br />
Project (RIMAP) in their efforts to<br />
identify which of five wrecks is<br />
the most likely to be the Endeavour<br />
(renamed Lord Sandwich) from<br />
13 vessels that were scuttled in<br />
the harbour entrance there by<br />
the British during the American<br />
Independence Revolution in 1778 as<br />
a blockade for the possible arrival of<br />
the French.<br />
Recently the RIMAP team excavated<br />
a small section of the buried hull<br />
taking various wood samples that<br />
will be analysed at a new conservation<br />
lab built with Australia’s<br />
help and private donations at the<br />
Herreshoff Marine Museum in<br />
Bristol, Rhode Island.<br />
You may recall from the article in<br />
our DIVE coverage last year that<br />
New Zealand Marine archaeologist<br />
Dr Bridget Buxton, Associate<br />
Professor of Ancient History and<br />
Mediterranean Archaeology who<br />
is based at the University of Rhode<br />
Island (URI) is very keen to have<br />
New Zealand involved in the process<br />
of verifying 100% that the remains<br />
are that of the Endeavour. The URI<br />
have all the conservation facilities<br />
and expertise to accomplish this to<br />
the highest marine archaeological<br />
best practice standards.<br />
PM Jacinda Ardern in an email<br />
(3rd <strong>Oct</strong> 2018) to Dr Bridget Buxton<br />
finished with: “We are in regular<br />
contact with relevant Australian agencies<br />
and, given the participation of the<br />
Australian National Maritime Museum,<br />
will certainly talk with them about<br />
progress and potential of this work.”<br />
Seeing that the Australians, God<br />
bless them, are in boots and all,<br />
it may be time for our Minister of<br />
Culture and Heritage to give them<br />
a call, if she or her Department<br />
have not already? Maybe it’s time<br />
to reconsider showing New Zealand<br />
Government’s interest in the wreck<br />
by accepting Dr Bridget Buxton’s<br />
offer to be an integral part of a<br />
professional team to establish once<br />
and for all, 100%, that the final<br />
resting place of this historic ship has<br />
been found.<br />
The Tuia Encounters 250 has become<br />
a public relations nightmare for the<br />
Government with Maori protests<br />
being planned. These protests are<br />
obviously being taken seriously<br />
by the Government. (The https://<br />
mch.govt.nz/tuia250 website has<br />
the following notice: Due to security<br />
issues the Tuia 250 website is unavailable.<br />
For updates on the Tuia 250 project<br />
follow us on Facebook).<br />
Meanwhile news videos taken in<br />
Gisborne show young Maori calling<br />
the Endeavour the Death Ship!<br />
Nonetheless let’s hope ALL New<br />
Zealanders, no matter their ethnic<br />
backgrounds, can come together to<br />
enjoy the three months of celebrations<br />
of the Tuia Encounters 250!<br />
- Dave Moran<br />
www.dive-pacific.com 5
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