Captain Cook Re-Enactment at Cooktown

James Cook arrived in what is now known as Cooktown on Cape York Peninsula in June 1770 and remained there for 48 days while repairing the Endeavour after it ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef.

June 17^th 1770 ENDEAVOUR RIVER

Cook spent seven weeks here in 1770, the longest land base during Cook’s East Coast expedition. The major task was to repair the Endeavour but Banks and his team of botanists spent their whole time exploring and discovering many botanical and natural history wonders which were totally new to science at the time. They discovered many new species of insects, fish, bugs and butterflies. They saw, for the first time in this country, a crocodile, dingo, flying fox, and many species of lizards, snakes, fish and insects.

The crew fished and collected giant clams and turtle for food. They found green vegetables and yams to supplement their diet. THE KANGAROO: The mysterious animal [kangaroo] was clearly sighted, shot by Lt Gore and eaten by the officers and gentlemen. It was sketched by Sydney Parkinson, named and closely examined by Banks and his botanical team. FIRST CONTACT: When the Guugu Yimithirr people from north of the harbour finally decided to make contact with Endeavour’s crew, the name of the mysterious beast was found to be ganguuru which was interpreted as kangaroo. https://www.cooktownandcapeyork.com/do/history/cookslanding

This was the story Re-enacted each year on the very location that it took place in 1770. Here they created a scene with bark huts and aborigines on one side, a middle with a background of the ship and stage exit; and a fireplace and clothesline on the other side with a drunk wandering through every action as if this would have happened for 48 days and became part of history.

130 words and phrases of the Guugu Yimithirr language, including the names of nine individuals, were recorded by Parkinson in his Journal which would surely have to be the first written record of an Indigenous language in this country during the first meaningful contact between Indigenous people and Europeans. FIRST RECONCILIATION: Six meetings between Endeavour’s crew and the Guugu Yimithirr took place with one visit ending in an altercation after Cook refused to share the turtles found on the Endeavour, with the local inhabitants. They were chased away after twice setting fire to Cook’s camp, burning all around the camp and killing a suckling pig. Cook wounded one man with musket shot and followed the group until he caught up with them on a rocky bar near the end of Furneaux Street, now known as Reconciliation Rocks. The British Flag was hoisted accompanied by Muskets firing with a big bang and lots of smoke making an inspiring finale….