Cooktown
Postcode: 4895
Cooktown is the northernmost town on the East coast of Australia, located at the mouth of the Endeavour River, on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland, Australia.
The Guugu Yimithirr name for the region, Gan.gaarr, means “(place of the) rock crystals,” as quartz crystals, which were used in various Aboriginal ceremonies, are found in the vicinity and used to be traded at least as far south as modern Mossman, to the north of Cairns.
In 1770 James Cook landed at the Endeavour River, the place where Cooktown now stands. It was the first white settlement in Australia and Cook’s Pillar, a stone monolith on the banks of the Endeavour, marks where Cook beached his damaged vessel. Cooktown is covered in history with most stone buildings dating back almost a century. It also has an ancient historic cemetery and a historical museum featuring original artifacts recovered from James Cook’s vessel. When it was the gateway to the Palmer River goldfield in the late 1800’s, Cooktown had a population as high as 30 000 and a main street more than 2km long. Today the population has died down to a few hundred, and has become a sleepy little town. Tourists can still experience the tranquil, unspoilt beauty of the area which remains much the same as Cook and the Aboriginal inhabitants knew it 1770. They can also visit the other attractions such as walking trails, river cruises, botanical garden, freshwater swimming holes, beaches, mountains and rainforest.
Cooktown is also the northern terminus of the Bicentennial Heritage Trail, which, at 5,330 km (3,312 miles), is the longest trail of its type in the world. The southern end of the Trail is at Healesville, a beautiful town, just 52 kilometres north-east of Melbourne, Victoria.