Cooktown

Overlooking Cooktown from Grassy Hill

Black Mountains

Endeavour River, Cooktown

Lions Den Hotel

Accommodation

Peninsula Van Park

Cooktown, Far North Queensland has plenty of accommodation including motels, hotels, caravan parks, but the main attraction is the historic buildings including the James Cook Museum, the Black Mountains and the barramundi fishing along with the great fishing on the Great Barrier Reef, and of course the Endeavour River, renowned as home to James

It was the site of Australia's first European settlement 18 years before the official birth of the nation.

Captain James Cook lived there for 48 days while his ship was repaired so he could return to England to report the discovery of "Terra Australia".

Torres Strait prawn trawlers now dock here, and across the palm lined Charlotte Street stands the historic gold rush hotels and shops which braved the onslaught of diggers and good time girls.

Permanent settlement began in 1873 with the discovery of gold in the Palmer River which became known as Australia's "River of Gold". With a population of 35,000 Cooktown was home of one of Queensland's most colourful good time girls like Palmer Kate, who won the affections of bold adventurer, Christie Palmerston, a most prolific explorer and bushman.

Back then, the town consisted of 163 brothels, (35 of them Chinese) and 94 licensed premises.

When the gold ran out the population began drifting away and by 1970 only a few hundred were left to celebrate the town's bi-centenary with a visit from Queen Elizabeth who opened the James Cook Historical Museum.

Along with buildings and relics of Cook and the gold rush days, Cooktown offers the special atmosphere of a remote outback town.

Visitors have a selection of sight seeing menus from Grassy Hill which Captain Cook climbed to find a clear passage through the reef, the James Cook Museum, a statuesque convent building built in the 1880's and housing the actual anchor and cannon Cook had to jettison in order to refloat the Endeavour off the reef.

The building was also used by American Forces during the war during the Battle of the Coral Sea. There's also the Botanical Gardens first planned and built in the 1880's and the cemetery with Mrs. Watson's grave and the Chinese Shrine

For over 100 years, Cooktown has been the end of the road, even for the adventurous North Queenslanders.

Nowadays, Cooktown shows its other face to the world. Visitors come for the tranquil beauty of the magnificent 15 minutes from shore diving reefs, and miles of long sandy beaches bounded by greenery and wildlife.

Just outside town is the bizarre Black Mountain where many a local has lost his life over the years. Rumoured to be alive with snakes, boogy men, unsafe boulders and a strange gaseous smell, even search parties are reluctant to go to the mystical mountain to find lost adventurers.

To the north on the bank of the upper reaches of the Endeavour River is the tiny township of Marton. This is as far as Joseph Banks got when he travelled up the river in a whale boat collecting specimens. The sandbank that stopped his progress is still there.

Overlooking the Endeavour River, hotels, motels and van parks ensure comfortable accommodation without sacrificing any of the traditional values of the past.

Come on in and hear the tales of Cooktown's characters of yesteryear.

Accommodation

Peninsula Van Park