§ Mr. Mayhewasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his discussions with the Australian Government regarding the United Kingdom claim to some of the six cannon jettisoned by Captain Cook off the Great Barrier Reef to save the "Endeavour" and recently recovered and if he will arrange to make some of them available to the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich.
§ Mr. WhitlockOn 7th January, 1969 an American scientific expedition discovered four of the six cannon jettisoned by Captain Cook when he went aground on the Great Barrier Reef in 1770. These are now in the custody of the Queensland Receiver of Wrecks.
In 1886 the then Secretary of State for the Colonies informed the Governor of Queensland that, if the cannon could be recovered, the British Government would transfer them to the Government of Queensland.
Following a request from the Director of the National Maritime Museum, the British High Commissioner in Canberra has been instructed to approach the Australian authorities with a view to obtaining one or more of the cannon for display at Greenwich. The outcome of these approaches is not yet known.