Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Newspaper - "Endeavour" Argus Competition, The Argus, Melbourne Vic., 1934
The Cook’s Endeavour was a competition by “The Argus” Melbourne in 1934. A maritime historian, Geoffrey Chapman Ingleton who has had a career in the Royal Australian Navy had designed and led the competition. Over 60 model ships were displayed at an exhibition that was open to youth within specific age groups.
Jim (James Bernard) Williams, was the owner of these cards, and a long-time resident of Warrnambool. He had the opportunity to work at two notable historical businesses of the town. The first, Cramond & Dickson a drapier store established around 1852-1855 and which remained a store that traded under the same name for the longest in Victoria, before it closed its doors in 1974. The second business was Fletcher Jones a highly successful textile and clothing Australian business. It appears Jim recycled some of the commercial cardboard packaging from his workplaces to paste the newspaper clippings to the card. Jim put together this model and the model “Sovereign of the Seas” which is on display at Flagstaff Hill Museum and Village. Jim would have witnessed the tail end of the shipping industry at port in Warrnambool and have been further inspired by the history of the shipwreck and maritime stories of the Victorian Southwest coast. Jim's father also had his own boat that he captained in Bass Strait. The item is significant to maritime history and exploration, inclusive of the Pacific Voyage of Captain James Cook to Australia in 1770. The competition was also published in the Melbourne Paper, The Argus reflecting 1930s Australia's interest in this voyage and the older historical sailing ships. This captured the imagination of a local resident of Warrnambool at the time, Jim Williams - who had worked at two local successful businesses to the town Cramond & Dickson and Fletcher Jones, the backing card could have been repurposed from these businesses. There was much interest shown by the local community of Jim's skill in model ship building, including a piece in the Warnnambool Standard. These cards were part of Jim's collection. There are 24 pulp cardboard cards with a matt texture and a buff colour. Each card front has a newspaper clipping pasted to it. 23 of the cards have various number “Sketches” from 1 to 20 of the plans for Endeavour model ship. Diagrams and text are in black and white on newspaper clippings. The clippings have yellowed. The cards vary in size but are not larger than 32cms wide by 24cm high. Some of the cards have minor grease marks (particularly Sketch 16) but do not obscure the text. Some cards have small remnants of coloured paints. The 24th card displays the Stanley Dowling Jig. The newspaper has yellowed, and some cards have dark grease marks. Sketch No. 15 has some thread through the bottom left hand 5 cms long. Sketches 9 and 10 are pasted to a cardboard from a packing box with an advertising logo brand MERITAS. Sketch 9 on the back "MERITAS / KNITTED [O]UTER-WEAR" and a fan shape from top to bottom in rainbow colours orange through to purple. Sketch 10 on the back "of merit / MADE IN AUSTRALIA'. A stylised figure of a man is dressed in a cream jumper with geometric detailing on the bands. He is standing on a monogram "M".flagstaff hill, warrnambool, maritime village, maritime museum, flagstaff hill maritime museum and village, shipwreck coast, great ocean road, the argus endeavour competition, cook's endeavour, cramond & dickson, fletcher jones, model ship building, royal australian navy, sovereign of the seas, jim williams, meritas
Stawell Historical Society Inc
Clunes Museum
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Warrnambool and District Historical Society Inc.