Destination Profile - Cooktown, Queensland
Cooktown was named in 1770 after Captain James Cook, who beached his vessel the Endeavour on the southern banks of the Endeavour River to undertake repairs after running aground. Cook stopped in Cooktown after he struck the Great Barrier Reef north of Cape Tribulation, struggled up the coast and beached the H.M. Barque Endeavour on the shores of the Endeavour River. Cook and his crew stayed on the river's edge from 17 June to 4 August 1770-the greatest amount of time they were to spend at any one location in Australia.
For over another 100 years the area remained a peaceful, tranquil location inhabited only by aboriginals, but in 1873 all this came to an abrupt end when gold was discovered in the Palmer River by James Venture Mulligan. It was decided that the site of Cook's landing on the Endeavour River would be used as a base for the trek to the goldfields and would become a far northern seaport.
On October 25th 1873 the steam ship Leichhardt arrived with building materials, officials and prospectors to establish the township of "Cookstown". Prospectors poured in from everywhere and the town grew quickly. The town boasted 65 hotels, 20 eating houses and 32 general stores. By 1885 Cooktown's population exceeded 35,000 including thousands of Chinese.
Cooktown depended on the mining of gold for its survival, and after the removal of tons of gold production began to decline. By the turn of the century the population was barely 2,000, but with the growing pearling and cattle industry the town managed to survive. During the Second World War most of the town was evacuated, and in 1949 a cyclone almost destroyed it. Cooktown survived once again and today it is one of the biggest tourist attractions in North Queensland.
Cooktown is well worth a visit with several Museums depicting its colourful history. The foreshore with its monuments pays tribute to early explorers' courage.
Cooktown has very extensive Botanic Gardens with many varieties of tropical trees and fruit.
This destination is part of the Cape York Outback Paradise Australian Adventure.
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