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Cooktown is the northernmost town on the East coast of Australia, located at 15°28′ S 145°17′ E (http://kvaleberg.com/extensions/mapsources/index.php?params=15_28_S_145_17_E_) on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland, Australia.. Categories: Australia geography stubs | Peninsulas | Headlands ...
Motto: Audax at Fidelis (Bold but Faithful) Other Australian states and territories Capital Brisbane Governor HE Ms Quentin Bryce Premier Peter Beattie (ALP) Area 1,852,642 km² (2st) - Land 1,730,648 km² - Water 121,994 km² (6. ...
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is the sixth-largest country in the world, the only country to occupy an entire continent, and the largest in the region of Australasia/Oceania. ...
History
Cook's Arrival The site of modern Cooktown was a meeting place of two vastly different cultures when, in June 1770, the local Aboriginal Guugu Yimithirr tribe cautiously watched the crippled sailing vessel – His Majesty's Bark Endeavour – limp up the coast of their territory seeking a safe harbour. They saw it beached in the calm waters near the bank of their river, which they called "Wahalumbaal," about which James Cook, wrote, “. . . it was happy for us that a place of refuge was at hand; for we soon found that the ship would not work, and it is remarkable that in the whole course of our voyage we had seen no place that our present circumstances could have afforded us the same relief.” Events March 5 - Boston Massacre: 5 Americans killed by British troops in an event that would help start the American Revolutionary War 5 years later. ...
Indigenous peoples are: Peoples living in an area prior to colonization by a state Peoples living in an area within a nation-state, prior to the formation of a nation-state, but who do not identify with the dominant nation. ...
The Guugu Yimithirr are an aboriginal tribe of Australia. ...
Sailing vessel can refer to: sailing ship sailboat ice boat This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...
HM Bark Endeavour was originally a small merchant collier named Earl of Pembroke, built in Whitby, North Yorkshire. ...
A harbor (or harbour) or haven is a place where ships may shelter from the weather or are stored. ...
British explorer James Cook, portrait by Nathaniel Dance, c. ...
The English crew spent almost seven weeks on the site of the present day Cooktown, repairing their ship, locating food, and caring for the sick. While the wealthy scientist, Joseph Banks, and naturalist Daniel Solander, who accompanied Cook on the expedition, were collecting, preserving and documenting many new species of plants, the young artist Sydney Parkinson was illustrating them. He was the first English artist to portray Aboriginal people from direct observation. Joseph Banks Sir Joseph Banks (February 13, 1743 - June 19, 1820) was the British naturalist and botanist on Cooks first great voyage (1768-1771) and some 75 species bear Banks name. ...
Daniel Carl Solander (February 19, 1733 - May 16, 1782) was a Swedish botanist. ...
Sydney Parkinson (1745 - January 1771) was a Scottish natural history artist. ...
After some weeks, Banks met and talked with the local people, recording about 50 Guugu Yimithirr words including the name of the intriguing animal the natives called gangaroo (which he transcribed as “Kangaru”). This article is about kangaroos, the marsupial. ...
Cook named the river, the “Endeavour,” after his ship and, as they sailed north, he hoisted the flage known as the 'Queen Anne Jack' and took possession of the whole eastern Coast of Australia for Britain. He named Cape York Peninsula after the then HRH the Duke of York. Categories: Australia geography stubs | Peninsulas | Headlands ...
The title Duke of York is a title of nobility usually given to the second son of the British monarch, unless the title is already held by an earlier monarchs son who is still alive. ...
King's Expedition The next recorded expedition to the area was nearly 50 years later, when another botanist, Allan Cunningham, accompanying Captain Philip Parker King, visited the remarkable region in 1819-20. He also collected numerous botanical specimens for the British Museum and Kew Gardens. Allan Cunningham (July 13, 1791 - June 27, 1839) was an English botanist and explorer. ...
Admiral Philip Parker King, F.R.S. (13 December 1793-1856) was an early explorer of the Australian coast. ...
1819 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...
1820 was a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...
The main entrance to the British Museum The British Museum is one of the worlds greatest and most famous museums. ...
Kew Gardens is a commonly-used name for the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, London, United Kingdom. ...
Gold Rush In 1872, William Hann discovered gold on the Palmer River, southwest of Cooktown. His findings were reported to James Venture Mulligan who led an expedition to the Palmer River in 1873. Mulligan's expedition found quantities of alluvial gold and thus began the gold rush that was to bring prospectors to the Endeavour River from all over the world. 1872 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...
1873 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...
Gold rush ad A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers into the area of a dramatic discovery of commercial quantities of gold. ...
The Queensland government responded quickly to Mulligan's reports, and soon a party was dispatched to advise whether the Endeavour River would be a suitable site for a port. Shortly after, a new township was established on the banks of the Endeavour River. Motto: Audax at Fidelis (Bold but Faithful) Other Australian states and territories Capital Brisbane Governor HE Ms Quentin Bryce Premier Peter Beattie (ALP) Area 1,852,642 km² (2st) - Land 1,730,648 km² - Water 121,994 km² (6. ...
The Palmer Goldfields, and its centre, Maytown, were growing quickly. The recorded output of gold from 1873 to 1890 was over half a million ounces (or more than 15,500 kg)! Cooktown was the port through which this gold was exported and supplies for the goldfields brought in. Word of the gold quickly spread, and Cooktown was soon thriving, as prospectors arrived from around the world. Maytown is the name of two places in the United States: Maytown, Alabama Maytown, Pennsylvania This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...
Population estimates vary widely, but there were probably around 7,000 people in the area by 1880. At that time, Cooktown boasted a large number of hotels and guest houses. There were 35 licensed hotels within the town boundaries and probably as many illegal grog shops and several brothels. There were bakeries, a brewery and a soft drinks factory, dressmakers and milliners, a brickworks, a cabinetmaker, and two newspapers. 1880 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...
Grog is also a type of clay, see Grog (clay). ...
The Chinese played an important role in the early days of Cooktown. They came originally as prospectors, but many established market gardens, supplying the town and the goldfields with fruit, vegetables and rice, while others opened shops.
However, largely through cultural misunderstandings, conflict had broken out between the Aboriginal people and the new settlers, and the diggers. The Cooktown Herald, December 8, 1875, reported, “The natives wholly ignorant of the terrible firepower of fire-arms, and confiding in their numbers, showed a ferocity and daring wholly unexpected and unsurpassed. Grasping the very muzzles of the rifles they attempted to wrest them from the hands of the whites, standing to be shot down, rather than yield an inch....” It was an unequal struggle. Whole tribes were wiped out as European settlement spread over Cape York Peninsula. 1875 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...
Categories: Australia geography stubs | Peninsulas | Headlands ...
Transport was an ongoing problem for the new settlers. Getting supplies and people to the gold fields often took three weeks. After every wet season the tracks and bridges had to be remade. A railway line from Cooktown to Maytown, was planned, but it took five years to get the 67 miles to Laura, Queensland – and that is where it stopped. By that time the gold was petering out, so the Queensland Government refused further funding for the venture. The wet season is a term commonly used when describing the weather in the tropics. ...
Maytown is the name of two places in the United States: Maytown, Alabama Maytown, Pennsylvania This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...
Laura has several meanings: Laura (person) was the love of Petrarch Laura (1944 movie) is a 1944 film Laura, Saskatchewan is a community SW of Regina, Saskatchewan in Canada Laura, Queensland is a small community on Cape York Peninsula in Australia Laura, Marshall Islands is a city in the Marshall...
In spite of this, the train proved to be a lifeline for the Peninsula people connecting the hinterland to Cooktown, from where one could catch a boat to Cairns and other southern ports. The line was closed in 1961 after the Peninsula Development Road was built connecting Cooktown and other Peninsula communities with Cairns and the Atherton Tableland to the south. Cairns is a regional city located in far north Queensland, Australia. ...
The Atherton Tableland is part of the Great Dividing Range in Queensland, Australia. ...
Cooktown's magnificent Botanic Garden of 62 hectares (154 acres) was established near the town, in 1878. Much work was done in the early stages – with wells sunk, water reticulated, garden beds enclosed, stone-lined paths, stone-pitched pools and footbridges were made, and lawns, trees and shrubs planted. Although the gardens fell into disrepair, in recent years the Gardens have been expanded, and are a favoured destination for botanists and nature lovers. Most of the early stone work has been restored, and beautiful walking tracks lead the visitor through the Botanic Gardens to the magnificent beaches at Finch Bay and Cherry Tree Bay.
In 1881, a bridge over the Endeavour River was completed, which opened up the richer pastoral lands of the Endeavour and McIvor River valleys. Tin was found in the Annan River area, south of Cooktown, in 1884. Events January - April January 16-24 ? Siege of Geok Tepe ? Russian troops under general Skobeleff defeat Turkomans January 25 - Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell form the Oriental Telephone Company February 5 - Phoenix, Arizona is incorporated. ...
The word tin is often used to mean a can, even if it does not contain any tin metal. ...
1884 is a leap year starting on Tuesday (click on link to calendar). ...
In 1886, Lutheran missionaries came to Cooktown to establish a secure place for the Aboriginal people who were living in abominable conditions on the edge of the town. Missions were established at Elim on the beach (later they moved inland to Hopevale, and Wujal Wujal, near the mouth of the Bloomfield River. 1886 is a common year starting on Friday (click on link to calendar) Events January 18 _ Modern field hockey is born with the formation of The Hockey Association in England. ...
With the gold rush over, the number of people living in the area started dwindling. Two major fires struck Cooktown – in 1875 and, again, in 1919 when whole blocks of buildings in the main street were burned to the ground. A major cyclone in 1907 added to the destruction. 1875 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...
1919 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...
In meteorology, a cyclone is the rotation of a volume of air about an area of low atmospheric pressure. ...
1907 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...
World War II By 1940, little evidence of Cooktown or Maytown's interesting past remained. During the Second World War, Cooktown became an important base for the war effort. 1940 was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ...
Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ...
Some 20,000 Australian and American troops were stationed in and around the town. The busy airfield played a key role in the crucial Battle of the Coral Sea when Japanese expansion towards the Australian mainland was finally halted.
Most of the population of Cape York Peninsula, both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal, were moved “down south” for the duration of the War. Many Aboriginal people died when moved from their traditional lands, and many Aboriginal and white families never returned from their exile. Categories: Australia geography stubs | Peninsulas | Headlands ...
Cooktown since World War II In 1949, another cyclone devastated the town, and Cooktown's population declined further. With the closure of the rail link to Laura in 1961 and the Peninsula Development Road opened up to the south, the population declined to just a few hundred people before it gradually began to climb again. 1949 is a common year starting on Saturday. ...
Today, there is a harmonious relationship between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal residents in the region. There is an active Aboriginal Community Centre called Gungarde on the main street. the name of the Centre comes from the Aboriginal name for the region and meant "crystals," as rock crystal (which was used in some aboriginal ceremonies) is found near the town. The "Milbi Wall" (or "Story Wall") marks the place of the first encounter between the British seafarers and the local Aborigines. The Milbi Wall tells the story of Cooktown and the Endeavour River from the perspective of the Aboriginal people . . . and is an outstanding monument to reconciliation.
Cooktown has recently grown in importance again and has become a popular tourist destination. The town now has good communications, more services, better roads, and offers residents a relaxed and healthy lifestyle. About 1,800 people live in the town itself while about another 4,000 in the region use it as a service centre. Visitors enjoy the delightful tropical environment, the historical connections, and use it as an access point to the Great Barrier Reef, the Lakefield National Park, and for fishing. Satellite image of a part of the Great Barrier Reef. ...
Lakefield is a National Park in Queensland (Australia), 1,707 km northwest of Brisbane. ...
Cooktown is a service centre for the district including the Aboriginal communities of Hopevale, 47km to the west, and Wujal Wujal, 72km to the south.
Cooktown is also the northern end of the Bicentennial Heritage Trail, which, at 5,330 km (3,312 miles), is the longest trail of its type in the world. The southern end of the Trail is at Healesville, a beautiful town, just 52 kilometres north-east of Melbourne, Victoria. Healesville is an outer-eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 52km from the Melbourne centre and situated on the Watts river, a tributary of the Yarra River. ...
References - Aughton, Peter. 2002. Endeavour: The Story of Captain Cook's First Great Epic Voyage. Cassell & Co., London.
- Duyker, Edward. 1998. Nature's Argonaut: Daniel Solander 1733-1782: Naturalist and Voyager with Cook and Banks. Melbourne University Press. ISBN 0-522-84753-6
- Edwards, Philip, ed. 2003. James Cook: The Journals. Prepared from the original manuscripts by J. C. Beaglehole 1955-67. Penguin Books, London.
- Hough, Richard. 1994. Captain James Cook: a biography. Hodder and Stroughton, London. ISBN 0-340-58598-6.
- Moon, Ron & Viv. 2003. Cape York: An Adventurer's Guide. 9th edition. Moon Adventure Publications, Pearcedale, Victoria. ISBN 0-9578766-4-5
- O'Brien, Patrick. 1987. Joseph Banks: A Life. The Harvill Press, London. Paperback reprint, 1989. ISBN 1-86046-406-8
- Pike, Glenville. 1979. Queen of the North: A Pictorial History of Cooktown and Cape York Peninsula. G. Pike. ISBN 0959896058.
- Pohlner, Peter. 1986. gangaurru. Hopevale Mission Board, Milton, Queensland. ISBN 1-86252-311-8
- Ryan, Michelle and Burwell, Colin, eds. 2000. Wildlife of Tropical North Queensland: Cooktown to Mackay. Queensland Museum, Brisbane. ISBN 0-7242-9349-3.
- Scarth-Johnson, Vera. 2000. National Treasures: Flowering plants of Cooktwon and Northern Australia. Vera Scarth-Johnson Gallery Association, Cooktown. ISBN 0646397265 (pbk); ISBN 0646397257 Limited Edition - Leather Bound.
- Sinclair, Don. 1997. Cooktown at War: A Record of Activities in Cooktown During World War II. Cooktown and District Historical Society.
- Sydney Daily Telegraph. 1970. Captain Cook: His Artists - His Voyages. The Sydney Daily Telegraph Portfolio of Original Works by Artists who sailed with Captain Cook. Australian Consolidated Press, Sydney.
- Thomas, Nicholas. 2003. The Extraordinary Voyages of Captain James Cook. Walker & Co., New York. ISBN 0-8027-1412-9
- Wallace, Lennie. 2000. Nomads of the 19th Century Queensland Goldfields. Central Queensland University Press, Rockhampton. ISBN 1-875998-89-6
- Wallace, Lennie. 2003. Cape York Penninsula: A History of Unlauded Heroes 1845-2003. Central Queensland University Press, Rockhampton. ISBN 1-876780-43-6
- Williams, Glyndwr, ed. 1997. Captain Cook's Voyages: 1768-1779. The Folio Society, London.
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