COOKTOWN
Cooktown can be approached via Cape
Tribulation or the Western route. The Western route is a relatively
new highway and here are some photos of this trip. An amazing road
that is superbly engineered.         
Cooktown has two attributes; the most
northern Qld accessed via bitumen and more importantly the location
Captain Cook ran aground on his escape from the northern eastern
shores of terra australis in that era.
Cooktown is a ‘museum in progress’ and will be that way for the
future. 
Each new discovery will be an invitation to record and then optimize
and the ‘official’
Museum gives a good insight into the official ‘Cook’ happenings.  
Here is some recorded history:-
‘The captain of the
Endeavour, 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". A semi paradise had been circumstanced. 
Cook named the river the
"Endeavour" after his ship and the
rugged Mount
Cook (231 metres or 758 ft) ,
forms a backdrop to the town and is now part of the Mount Cook
National Park .
In 1872, William Hann
discovered gold in the Palmer River,
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 at the site of the present town, on the southern bank of
the river.’
Cooktown is a great place
to visit.
The Hotels are old with
plenty a local tale to relate.    
The War Memorial is located
mid town. 
The Catholic
and Baptist
Churches have a presence. The Anglican is being re-developed.
Cooktown has a lot going
for the town. _small.JPG)
Highly recommended an up to a week visit is recommended.
Diary
notes  
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