For a long time, the road to Cooktown remained narrow, treacherous and largely unpaved.
It was so difficult a destination to reach that it came to be quite isolated and remote. This all changed when a company called Adventure North Australia invested in some four-wheel drive vehicles that could handle the rough terrain. Their goal was to provide unique experiences that would immerse visitors in both the nature and the history surrounding Cooktown.
Departing from Cairns and Port Douglas, Adventure North Australia's Cooktown tours transport visitors through the UNESCO Natural World Heritage listed Daintree Rainforest via a rugged dirt road called the Bloomfield Track. The tour also traverses the Mulligan Highway, an inland road that cuts through the old Palmer gold fields, providing an off the beaten path journey through what's been referred to as the outback of Tropical North Queensland.
Named after the infamous British navigator, Cooktown is located near the northern tip of Australia. In 1770, Captain Cook and his crew ran their ship, the Endeavour, aground onto a reef in the Coral Sea. To do repairs, Cook and his crew beached it on shore the mouth of a nearby waterway they named the Endeavour River. They built a camp and spent seven weeks at this location, during which time Cook and his crew interacted with the Aboriginal people and studied the extraordinary plants and animals of the region.
More than a century passed following Captain Cook's departure, and for the most part, the Aboriginal people were left to themselves.
Then, in 1872, gold was discovered in the nearby Palmer River. This ignited a gold rush to the Queensland frontier. Cooktown popped up as a makeshift port settlement, riddled with vice and sleazy establishments. Incoming ships delivered prospectors from Europe and China by the thousands throughout the 1870's, all looking to get rich quick by mining for gold.
As it turned out, flooding thousands of people into a region with no infrastructure wasn't such a great idea. Many arrived in Cooktown completely unprepared for the extreme heat and humidity of the tropical climate. Food and water shortages were rampant. Settlers and prospectors dropped like flies from thirst and starvation, while some men murdered others just to steal their supplies. There were even men who'd wait at the port for fresh prospectors, only to kill them and use their money for passage.
The food and water shortages hit the Aboriginal people even harder. They had lived off the land as hunters and gatherers for thousands of years. All of a sudden, their natural resources were completely depleted by the surge of incoming prospectors. The Aboriginal people suffered brutal massacres led by European settlers, as well. Desperate times call for desperate measures, so the Aboriginal people fought back and did what they had to do to survive.
Prospectors learned they could travel in groups for better protection from violence and theft. When someone in the group happened to fall ill, they were stripped of their supplies and left for dead on the road. The groups were typically led by a small number of Europeans in the front, followed by the larger number of Chinese prospectors in tow. While the body count added up in the streets of Cooktown, one by one, men vanished from the the tail ends of prospecting parties.
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It came to be understood that the prospectors, as well as early settlers (even women and children), were being kidnapped by the Aboriginal people for the purpose of cannibalism. Many theorized they had a preference for the taste of Chinese prospectors due to their respective diet, which differed than that of the Europeans. Regardless, it made Cooktown an even more deadly frontier town to find oneself during the gold rush era, which lasted about a decade.
One account tells how three men disappeared from a prospector party. They were later discovered hanging from trees by their hair, alive yet missing most of their limbs. With no refrigerators, the Aboriginal people kept their meat fresh with tourniquets. That way, they could enjoy their meals one limb at a time, while the men hanging from trees could watch as their own arms and legs were devoured. They were literally being eaten alive. Can you imagine being in their shoes, or rather, tourniquets? What kind of conversations would take place in that scenario?
It was the Wild Wild West but with a side of cannibalism.
Prospectors killing the prospectors, settlers killing the Aboriginal people, the Aboriginal people eating the settlers and prospectors. The history of Cooktown and the Palmer Gold Fields is full of so many dark, spine-chilling tales that it makes you wonder: how is there not a movie about this gruesome frontier town starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Daniel Day-Lewis yet?
It was on Adventure North Australia's 4WD Cooktown Explorer tour that I learned about this gory yet captivating history. Our guide was knowledgeable and steeped in local lore as the stories he shared were both fascinating and relevant. After the tour, I researched further into the history of Cooktown, only to uncover accounts that provide even more colorful depictions.
Today's Cooktown isn't quite so untamed as it was 150 years prior. It's a quaint, pleasant village that has managed to maintain a fascinating consignment of historical character. The main street is lined with restaurants, cafes and souvenir shops that still boast the frontier style and intricacies of late nineteenth-century architecture.
In fact, modern day Cooktown is so peaceful and serene, it's difficult to imagine such atrocities could have ever occurred if it weren't for the evidence that remains of its clandestine story.
I recommend doing one of Adventure North Australia's two or three-day Cooktown tours so that you have enough free time to explore this intriguing destination. Take time to stroll along the river observing the sailboats and various landmarks, such as the statue of Captain Cook or the site of the Endeavour landing. Have a go at improvisation by visiting Cooktown's interactive Musical Ship, which is a creative installation that's fun for the entire family. In the evening, share a pint of Queensland's local brew, XXX, with locals at The Cooktown Hotel and Top Pub. This saloon was first established in 1874, at the height of the gold rush and managed to retain its original structure.
All of Adventure North Australia's Cooktown tours bring guests to the top of Grassy Hill, where there are breathtaking 360-degree views of the marvelous natural scenery encompassing Cooktown. This spectacular panorama is enriched by the greens of the rainforest alongside a palate of azure blues that result as the sun reflects off portions of the Great Barrier Reef and the sand banks that line the Endeavor River.
The tour also stops for views of the mysterious Black Mountain, an unusual set of igneous rock formations created by volcanic activity, which transformed this region many millennia ago. The Aboriginal people told stories of how Black Mountain was cursed. Some speculate it's riddled with bottomless caverns. Legend has it that countless individuals have entered Black Mountain, never to come out or to be seen again.
While staying in Cooktown, it's worth patronizing the World Class James Cook Museum, where various artifacts and memorabilia are on display. There's also the cemetery, hiking trails and botanical gardens to explore. Visitors can also climb to the top of Reconciliation Rock, where Captain Cook's crew made amends with the Aboriginal people following a scuffle. One thing's for sure: Cooktown has no shortage of attractions for all types of history buffs, from conventional or cryptic, as well as nature lovers to appreciate and explore.
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