Captain James Cook - Cooktown, Queensland
S 15° 27.757 E 145° 14.993
55L E 312234 N 8289740
Located on the Cooktown Esplanade this statue is an ever present reminder of the person who rediscovered Australia.
Waymark Code: WM7FZH
Location: Queensland, Australia
Date Posted: 10/21/2009
Views: 5
In 1770, while on his first voyage of discovery Captain James Cook and his ship the "Endeavour" ran afoul of the Great Barrier Reef and seriously damaged the hull.
To avoid sinking, all the crew and stores had to be offloaded in order to free the "Endeavour" from the reef.
Cook needed to find safe waters, and fast, so he sailed his damaged 368 ton vessel into the closest river he could find. It was here that his crew of 87 men, some of whom all Australians are familiar with, like Banks, Solander, Hicks and Monkhouse, were evacuated to the shore and told to make camp in order to assist with the massive task of repairing the hull of their crippled ship.
Cooks' stay in that harbour was to be his longest onshore stay for his entire voyage. He later named the river "Endeavour" after the great vessel whose life it saved. It was the only river in Australia that he would name.
This statue was commissioned by BP Australia as a Bicentennial gift to the people of Cooktown and unveiled by Mr A W Gorrie, Chairman of the Board, 25th June 1988.
The bronze statue is the work of the Australian sculptor Stanley Hammond.
URL of the statue: Not listed
|
Visit Instructions:
You must have visited the site in person, not online.