Location
Cooktown is a beautiful and unspoilt small coastal town nestled between Mt.
Cook & the Endeavour River, just 3½ hours north of Cairns.
Captain Cook landed here in 1770 after coming to grief on what is known today
as the Endeavour Reef. One hundred years later gold was discovered on the Palmer
River and Cooktown—the Queen of the North—rapidly grew into a bustling service
centre to cater for the mining camps of Australia’s largest gold rush. Charlotte
St. runs straight down the centre of the town & was the beginning of the
Palmer road, which by late 1974 boasted approx. 94 licensed premises.
Today Cooktown is known for its laid-back atmosphere, great fishing, and proximity to the Great Barrier Reef.