A Captain James Cook biographer believes a "question mark" still hangs over the Australian National Maritime Museum's (ANMM) controversial announcement that it has found the HMB Endeavour.
The ANMM says the 22-year search for the ship, which charted the east coast of Australia, and mapped New Zealand, in 1770, has ended with confirmation it lies in Newport Harbour, Rhode Island.
But the museum and its research partners the Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project (RIMAP) are at loggerheads after yesterday's declaration, with the later saying it came prematurely.
Author Rob Mundle said the squabble means it was too early to definitively say Captain Cook's famous vessel had been located, even if the signs were promising.
"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 ABC Radio National.
"There are certain elements there that would suggest that it's Endeavour, and there's nothing really to say that it's not Endeavour.
"But until we find something that says, 'Yes there is no doubt whatsoever that this is Endeavour', then I think there is a question mark hanging over it."
Most of the materials used to make Endeavour would be lost to time, Mr Mundle said, but finding the distinguishing bricks used to keep heat in the galley — the ship's kitchen — would be a sure sign of its identity.
"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.
However, University of Sydney marine shipwreck expert, Natali Pearson, said she had worked closely with the ANMM and its researchers on other projects and had a "high degree of confidence in their abilities".
Dr Pearson felt confirming the resting place of the "celebrity shipwreck" presented an opportunity to discuss Endeavour's impact on Indigenous Australians.
"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.
Dr Pearson said there would be no benefit to the public in excavating the site, adding it could be protected by measures such as conservation zones and regular monitoring,
Yesterday, the ANMM's chief executive, Kevin Sumption, said he was convinced years of research had pinpointed the ship to an area known as RI 2394, which had been under investigation since 1999.
The ship was scuttled there in 1778, as part of a British tactic to prevent French ships from entering the harbour during the American War of Independence.
"I am satisfied that this is the final resting place of one of the most important and contentious vessels in Australia's maritime history," Mr Sumption said.
Mr Sumption praised the "historical moment" and paid tribute to maritime archaeologists based in the US state of Rhode Island, and its lead investigator Kathy Abbass.
Several key markers of the 18th century wreck matched plans for HMB Endeavour, he said, which set it apart from others found in the area.
An hour later, Ms Abbass issued a rebuke of the ANMM, saying there were "many unanswered questions" about the wreck that could overturn its identification.
Ms Abbass also accused the ANMM of breaching a contract with the RIMAP.
She recognised "the connection between Australian citizens of British descent and the Endeavour" but said RIMAP's decisions would be driven by science and not "Australian emotion or politics".
"What we see on the shipwreck site under study is consistent of what might be the Endeavour, but there has been no indisputable data to prove the site is that iconic vessel, and there are many unanswered questions that could overturn such an identification,” Ms Abbass said in a statement.
The ANMM disputed those sentiments in another statement, and denied it had breached its contractual obligations.
Mr Mundle, who has charted Captain Cook's life in novels, agreed there could be an element of emotion in the ANMM's readiness to make the call.
"I'm afraid I'm with (Ms Abbass)," he said.
Originally launched in 1764 as the Earl of Pembroke, the ship was renamed Endeavour by Britain's Royal Navy in 1768.
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.
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.
While only 15 per cent of the vessel remains, efforts are now focused on how to protect and preserve it.
