Cooktown
Cooktown
was named in 1770 after Captain James Cook was forced to beach his ship
the Endeavour in what is now called the Endeavour River for repairs
after damaging the hull of the ship on the Great Barrier Reef.
On 23 October 1873 a little over 1 month after gold was discovered in the Palmer River catchment, Cooktown was established as a port town for the goldfields. During the following years many Chinese and European settlers where drawn to Cooktown and the Palmer River goldfields and during this time Cooktown become one of the major ports on the Australian coastline. At the peak of the gold rush Cooktown was home to an estimated 30,000 residents and 65 registered hotels, 20 eating houses, 32 general stores and a huge variety of other businesses and outlets. Some of the colonial buildings from this period can still be seen today.
By 1888 the gold in the Palmer River catchment had started to run out and Cooktowns population and prosperity started to decline. By the early 1900s Cooktowns population had been reduced to a few thousand people. Over the following years Cooktowns population was reduced more with many young mean enlisting in World War II and in 1918 a large fire burnt to the ground many of the towns major commercial buildings.
In recent years an all weather sealed road was been completed making Cooktown an attractive trip for many visitors to Cairns and Northern Queensland.
Today Cooktown is a relaxed town with an approx population of 1500 people. The town itself is home to a variety of accommodation options including camping and caravan parks, various local restaurants, a supermarket and most facilities you expect from a small country town.
The waterfront area is a great place to explore and soak up the historic atmosphere of the town. Here you will find the monument to Captain James Cook and the adjoining main street of Cooktown is a home to many historic buildings. The wharf area is a great place to try your luck fishing, or if you are lucky and a local fishing boat is unloading its catch, be sure to check and see if you can buy some fresh seafood from the crew.
Grassy Hill is one of the most popular spot for visitors to Cooktown, the winding road takes you to the top of a small hill which offers amazing views of the Cooktown the Endeavour River and the surrounding area. Captain Cook also climbed Grassy Hill in 1770 in the hope of being able to plot a safe passage through the reef and into the open sea once more. Today a monument commemorates his visit and climb to Grassy Hill. You will also find a small lighthouse which was used built in England and shipped to Cooktown in 1885, for over 100 years the lighthouse assisted boats in navigating the coastline.
Cooktown is also home to a variety of National Parks and there are also many nature walks. The heritage listed Botanical Gardens, Mt Cook the Lakefield and Black Mountain National Park are all popular destinations for visitors.
You will also fin in Cooktown the Captain James Cook Museum which is regarded as one of the countries best museums. The museum is housed in a restored heritage building which was originally the Convent of Saint Mary. The museum is home to local historic information, information on Captain Cooks visit to Cooktown and interesting information on the local aboriginal and Chinese immigrant heritage and history. The museum today also is home to the anchor and a single cannon, from the HMS Endeavour.
Cooktown is an enjoyable spot on any trip to Cape York Peninsula.