About Town
Local Attractions
Charlotte Street
Charlotte Street is the main street of Cooktown and is the best place to start if you want to spend a number of hours exploring Cooktown. This is where you can find most of the buildings shown in the photo gallery and it is the historical heart of town. Most of the buildings started from the boom in financing from the gold rush of the late 1800's. Today these buildings are heritage listed and you should at least visit the old Bank which is still fitted out like a gold rush era bank. You can also find the Post Office, Westpac and Police Station on the lower part of the street.
Cooktown Creative Arts Assoc. Ph: (07) 4069 5794
The old Cooktown Railway Station has been refurbished and now houses a showcase for the local talents of artists. The centre is open daily and is staffed by local artists themselves. It hosts many creative works and a relaxing garden for some quiet rest and relaxation.
James Cook Historical Museum Ph: (07) 4069 5386
The National Trust of Queensland has kept in fine condition this building built in 1889. Left in disrepair after being a WW2 command post the refurbished building was re-opened by the Queen in 1970. Here you can see a full history of Captain James Cook and details of his many travels throughout the world. The original anchor from the Endeavour and also one of the cannons from onboard can be found restored here today. Also on display is a history of the aboriginal and the various groups of immigrants seen since following the gold and cattle trades.
Grassy Hill
This hill at the end of the Cooktown peninsula is where Capt. James Cook climbed to survey the surrounding reefs once the Endeavour had been fixed after earlier striking a reef. Another interesting piece of history has Joseph Banks, the botanist onboard the Endeavour, being the first European to document sightings of the Kangaroo which was on this very hill. Since then it has had erected a lighthouse engineered in England and constructed in 1885. This light was one of the most important of the time as Cooktown grew to become one of Queensland's largest towns and the precious cargoes of gold needed a safe passage out of the reef. During World War 2 a radar and signalling station was built to protect Cooktown from invasion. Today you can recreate the history from on top with a full panorama of the ocean and surrounding lands.
Cooktown Museum Ph: (07) 4069 5680
Cooktown Museum is a privately funded museum that houses a mostly maritime history of Cooktown and surrounds. With many artefacts from the early pioneer days a visit to this museum is both interesting and informative.
Endeavour Park & Wharf
Down the end of Charlotte Street is the seafront park with many monuments to different stages of Cooktown's history. This is where Capt. James Cook brought the Endeavour ashore to enact repairs. Today you can find monuments to the Landing of the Endeavour, Captain James Cook as well as the Anonymous Miner. A cannon can also be found which was originally crafted in Scotland in 1803 and ended up being sent to Cooktown in 1885 to protect the town from a feared Russian invasion. It is still fired during the Discovery Festival each year. Further down beyond the commemorative path you will find the wharf where the best seafood can be caught or if you are unlucky you can find a fabulous fish shop to make up dinner instead.
Hotels
A few of the original hotels still exist in Cooktown from the Gold Rush days. The Sovereign Hotel was originally built in 1874 and is the most upmarket of the hotels in town. Further along Charlotte Street you can find the West Coast Hotel est. 1874 and "The Top Pub" which started as the Whitehorse pub back in 1885. On the other end of Charlottle street is the R.S.L. for a quiet drink and a nice meal.
Home to an Environmental Interpretive Centre this fabulous attraction also hosts the Charles Tanner Gallery and the Vera Scarth-Johnson Gallery. It is located inside the Cooktown Botanical Gardens that were first established back in 1878. On display is a very in depth collection of Cape York flora and fauna which is certain to appeal to young and old. Special exhibitions are held throughout the year so be sure to check their website for more details.
Finch & Cherry Tree Bays
On the ocean facing side of the peninsula is Finch and Cherry Tree Bays. These lovely little beaches are white sand and a big difference to the other side adjacent the Endeavour River. Access is down near the Botanical Gardens and to visit Cherry Tree Bay is a longer bushwalking experience around the point with the Coral Sea as a backdrop. Locals use these bays for swimming however they do avoid the water near the creek which is inhabited by Crocodiles. The other end of the Finch Bay beach and Cherry Tree Bay is not usual Croc habitat so if you are careful, don't go too deep and your aware of marine stingers which are typically about from November to May. A light exposure suit or stockings to swim in is recommended during Stinger season
Mt Cook Lookout
For the more adventurous a hike up to the top of Mt Cook offers a spectacular view of the surrounding area. Our advice is to start early to take advantage of the cool and a lot of people say the lookout offers a better view than the summit. Have a look at the Wet Tropics page for some resources on what you will see and can do while hiking in the rainforest. Access is on Melaleuca Street down the end of Charles Street.
