Cooktown, Queensland
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Cooktown Queensland |
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View of Cooktown from Grassy Hill
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 Cooktown
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| Coordinates | 15°28′8.5″S 145°15′5.5″E / 15.469028°S 145.251528°ECoordinates: 15°28′8.5″S 145°15′5.5″E / 15.469028°S 145.251528°E | ||||||||||||
| Population | 2,339 (2011 census) | ||||||||||||
| Established | 1873 | ||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 4895 | ||||||||||||
| Elevation | 6.0 m (20 ft) | ||||||||||||
| Location |
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| LGA(s) | Shire of Cook | ||||||||||||
| County | Banks | ||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Cook | ||||||||||||
| Federal Division(s) | Leichhardt | ||||||||||||
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Cooktown is a small town and locality in the Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia. Cooktown is located about 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) north of Brisbane and 328 kilometres (204 mi) north of Cairns, by road. At the time of the 2011 census, Cooktown had a population of 2,339.
Cooktown is at the mouth of the Endeavour River, on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland where James Cook beached his ship, the Endeavour, for repairs in 1770. Both the town and Mount Cook (431 metres or 1,415 feet) which rises up behind the town were named after James Cook.
Cooktown is one of the few large towns in the Cape York Peninsula and was founded on 25 October 1873 as a supply port for the goldfields along the Palmer River. It was called 'Cook's Town' until 1 June 1874.
In the local Guugu Yimithirr language the name for the region is Gangaar Aboriginal pronunciation: [ɡ̊anˈɡaːr], which means "(Place of the) Rock Crystals." Quartz crystals were used in various Aboriginal ceremonies across the continent and are found in the vicinity; they were traded from the Cooktown region at least as far as Mossman, about 300 kilometres (190 mi) south of Cooktown, and possibly much further.
The site of modern Cooktown was the meeting place of two vastly different cultures when, in June 1770, the local Aboriginal Guugu Yimithirr tribe cautiously watched the crippled sailing ship – His Majesty's Bark Endeavour – limp up the coast seeking a safe harbour after sustaining serious damage to its wooden hull on the Endeavour Reef, south of Cooktown. The Guugu Yimithirr people saw the Endeavour beach in the calm waters near the mouth of their river, which they called "Wahalumbaal".
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Wikipedia