The Endeavour left Macquarie Island and was not heard of again; the ship and all aboard were lost at sea.

All these events took place before I joined the Bureau of Meteorology. Much of what I have related has been published in various works. The remainder I gleaned from conversations during which these matters were discussed among senior officers in the room in which I worked in my early years at the Bureau. The head of this room was R. F. Griffith first assistant to the Commonwealth Meteorologist and young meteorologists (Akeroyd, Ainsworth, Barkley and Richards) had occasions to see him in the course of their duties and the conversations frequently turned to these events which were still fresh in their memories.

One view that appeared to be generally accepted by these men was that the Endeavour tragedy and particularly the death of Power (probably in view of the circumstances of his assignment to Macquarie Island) had a deep effect on the Commonwealth Meteorologist (H. A. Hunt). It probably accounted for his attitude to specific proposals of a somewhat similar nature years later, he being still influenced by the memory of the Endeavour tragedy.

Power's successor (and the others at Macquarie Island) were relieved at the end of his year's term, after which the island meteorological station remained unoccupied until the close of the 1939–45 World War, when it was again staffed and meteorological observations resumed.

September 1969

J. Hogan

Bureau of Meteorology