Cooktown History Centre in Cooktown, Queensland, Australia | Landmark & historical place

Cooktown History Centre

Locality: Cooktown, Queensland, Australia

Phone: +61 7 4069 6640

Address: 121 Charlotte Street 4895 Cooktown, QLD, Australia

Website: http://www.cooktownhistory.org.au/

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• Non-profit organisation
• Landmark & historical place
• Landmark

24.01.2022 How many people now know that Australia voted NO for conscription during WW1. Twice!

24.01.2022 This is the man who translated our Chinese footstones for us. Weren't we lucky to have had such a talented young man helping us out!

24.01.2022 Another change to operating hours for the week ending Nov 28. As of 3pm yesterday afternoon, the demolition of our close neighbouring building, the Boathouse, was put into action. We have been advised that this will continue all week and will be very noisy. Therefore, we have decided to close our doors. However, volunteers will still be working behind the scenes and if anyone is keen to come in, noise and all, please knock, or just ring us!

23.01.2022 New opening hours for the History Centre. Today, July 18th we are open from 10.00 am to 3.00pm. Mon 9.00 to 12.30 Tues 9.00 to 12.30 Wed 9.00 to 3.00 Thur 9.00 to 12.30... Frid 9.00 to 3.00 pm Sat 10.00 to 3.00pm See more

22.01.2022 A change to opening hours will be in place from this coming Monday 9th Nov. Monday 9 to 3. Tues, Wed, Thurs, Friday and Sat. 9 to 12.00. Any further changes will be advised.

22.01.2022 Seventy-five years ago Cairns was a city at war. Tanks lumbered on the beaches and commandos trained in the hills. Then, on this day in 1945, came peace in the Pacific - and Cairns went 'delirious with joy'. FNQ'S HIDDEN SITES OF WWII: https://bit.ly/2Y3GWFT

22.01.2022 The last major epidemic in living memory in Australia was polio. Many of us might remember friends from school or the neighbourhood who fell victim to this crue...l and sometimes fatal virus. Interestingly it bears some similar characteristics to the present pandemic; Poliomyelitis is a sometimes fatal disease caused by a virus that is spread through faeces and mucous, and ingested orally. It is highly contagious, but in the majority of cases polio has either no effect at all or, at worst, no more than flu-like symptoms. However, in about one per cent of those infected the virus spreads to the nervous system, causing paralysis, usually of the legs. Of those affected in this way, five to 10 per cent die. As most people infected with polio have no signs of illness, they remain unaware they have been infected. For several weeks they can be spreading the virus. During that time, polio can spread rapidly through a community. The disease may infect thousands of people, depending on the level of sanitation, before the first case of polio paralysis emerges. See more

21.01.2022 CAN YOU HELP? The History Centre volunteers are working on a project about the history of the Shire Hall and although we have some early photos of the hall, we realise we have no photos of events at the hall over the past 50 odd years. There were balls, dances, discos, new year eves parties, weddings, concerts, school concerts, school speech nights, deb balls. Do you know of other events that have been held there? Would love to hear your stories.

19.01.2022 We've updated our hours of attendance to cater from the increased numbers of visitors to town. So, starting from today, our hours are: Mon. 9.00 am to 3.00 pm Tues, 9.00 am to 12.00 pm Wed. 9.00 am to 3.00 pm. Thurs. 9.00 to 12.00pm... Fri. 9.00 am to 3.00 pm Sat. 10.00 am to 3.00 pm. See more

18.01.2022 And, now for something a bit different!

17.01.2022 Little historical reminder: "The most severe pandemic in history was the Spanish Flu of 1918. It lasted 2 years, in 3 waves of contamination with 500 million pe...ople infected and totaling 50 million deaths. Most of the deaths occurred during the 2nd wave of contamination.The population tolerated quarantine and social distancing measures so badly that, when the first de-containment took place, the population began to rejoice in the streets, abandoning all precautions. In the weeks that followed, the second wave of contamination arrived, with tens of millions of deaths. " It is often said that history repeats itself. Let us not let history repeat itself. Let’s be disciplined and let go. Life is priceless, except for the pain of losing a loved one ... Via Romain De Bascher

15.01.2022 Covid 19 social distancing rules are in place at the Cooktown History Center. This means we will be closed for a private group on this Wednesday morning from 10.00 to 12.00! However, we will be open again to the public from noon to 3.00pm.

15.01.2022 Happy birthday Mr Bird! 93 years around the sun. Well done!

14.01.2022 A history of Queensland suffragism that I was unaware of before this post.

13.01.2022 Change in operating hours as follows. Mon and Friday. 9.00 am to 3.00pm Tues, Wed, Thursday. 9.0 am to 12.00 Sat morning only. 10.00am to 12.00.... These hours will be in place for the next fortnight when a further review will take place.

13.01.2022 Lest we forget.

11.01.2022 So picture this. It’s 1932 and Australia is in the grip of the Great Depression. One in three workers are unemployed. Decrepit shanty towns hug the outskirts of... the big cities. A scrawny rabbit caught in a trap will feed a family for a week. Country roads are filled with broken men walking from one farmhouse to another seeking menial jobs and food. On the outskirts of the South Gippsland town of Leongatha, an injured farmer lies in bed unable to walk or work. World War I hero Captain Leo Tennyson Gwyther is in hospital with a broken leg and the family farm is in danger of falling into ruins. Up steps his son, nine-year-old Lennie. With the help of his pony Ginger Mick, Lennie ploughs the farm’s 24 paddocks and keeps the place running until his father can get back on his feet. How to reward him? Lennie has been obsessively following one of the biggest engineering feats of the era the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. He wants to attend its opening. With great reluctance, his parents agree he can go. So Lennie saddles up Ginger Mick, packs a toothbrush, pyjamas, spare clothes and a water bottle into a sack, and begins the 1000+ kilometre trek to Sydney. Alone. That’s right. A nine-year-old boy riding a pony from the deep south of Victoria to the biggest and roughest city in the nation. Told you it was a different era. No social media. No mobile phones. But even then it doesn’t take long before word begins to spread about a boy, his horse and their epic trek. The entire population of small country towns gather on their outskirts to welcome his arrival. He survives bushfires, is attacked by a vagabond and endures rain and cold, biting winds. When he reaches Canberra he is welcomed by Prime Minister Joseph Lyons, who invites him into Parliament House for tea. When he finally arrives in Sydney, more than 10,000 people line the streets to greet him. He is besieged by autograph hunters. He becomes a key part of the official parade at the bridge’s opening. He and Ginger Mick are invited to make a starring appearance at the Royal Show. Even Donald Bradman, the biggest celebrity of the Depression era, requests a meeting and gives him a signed cricket bat. A letter writer to The Sydney Morning Herald at the time gushes that just such an example as provided by a child of nine summers, Lennie Gwyther was, and is, needed to raise the spirit of our people and to fire our youth and others to do things not to talk only. The sturdy pioneer spirit is not dead let it be remembered that this little lad, when his father was in hospital, cultivated the farm a mere child. When Lennie leaves Sydney for home a month later, he has become one of the most famous figures in a country craving uplifting news. Large crowds wave handkerchiefs. Women weep and shout goodbye. According to The Sun newspaper, Lennie, being a casual Australian, swung into the saddle and called ‘Toodleloo!’. He finally arrives home to a tumultuous reaction in Leongatha. He returns to school and soon life for Lennie and the country returns to normal. These days you can find a bronze statue in Leongatha commemorating Lennie and Ginger Mick. But Australia has largely forgotten his remarkable feat and how he inspired a struggling nation. Never taught about him in school? Never heard of him before? Spread the word. We need to remember and celebrate Lennie Gwyther and his courageous journey. It's a great story. God knows we need these stories now, more than ever. Stolen from Garry Linnell's article in The New Daily

10.01.2022 For most of us, 2020 will be a year to remember and the same goes for the History Centre. Our year started off with the delivery of 4 x 4 drawer filing cabinets from the Council library. They contained a forty year collection of newspaper clippings that relate to Cooktown and Cape York. One of our dedicated volunteers is now cataloging them. The Covid 19 lockdown co-incided with Council's maintenance plans. All the rotten timbers on the front veranda have been replaced. Sadly... we had to remove the Ixora hedge from the front to access other rotten timbers. The pews on the veranda have been painted Manor Red and blends in with the new paintwork. Jenny Habermann turned 80 years and we celebrated with a sinful hummingbird cake. The Wujal Wujal Justice group ladies came up for a day to help identify a collection of photos that had been at the State library for years, unidentified. Safety measures for COVID 19 have been introduced and it's possible that we may be opening out doors shortly! See more

09.01.2022 Who remembers Wilma performing at a Jazz Club night at Natures Powerhouse? What a time we had!

08.01.2022 We are open on a trial basis for the time being. Monday, Wednesday, Friday. 9.00 am to 12.30 Covid 19 rules with self distancing are in place!

08.01.2022 Andrew Leon was an early Chinese resident of Cooktown. He resided 'up on the hill' as opposed to the Chinese enclave around Adelaide Street. In fact, his home, was next to the area where the Council building is today, on the block which is owned by the Education Dep.

07.01.2022 "IT'S OVER" WWII was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countriesincluding all the great powersforming ...two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. The official surrender ceremony ending the SW Pacific War in the New Guinea Islands, was held on board the British Navy aircraft carrier H.M.S. Glory off Rabaul at 11:30 am on 6th September 1945. Accompanying General Hitoshi Imamura, the Commander of the Japanese Eighth Area Army in Rabaul, is Vice Admiral Jinishi Kusaka, Commander of the South East Area Fleet; General Verdon Sturdee, Commander First Australian Army; General K.W. Eather, Officer Commanding Eleventh Australian Division and Captain W Buzzard RN, Commander of H.M.S Glory. Representatives on both sides immediately discussed surrender arrangements including the repatriation of the ninety thousand Japanese in the area, the ex-prisoners of war and the release of eight hundred and fifty Chinese who were interred at Ratongor . The township of Rabaul had been obliterated by allied bombing. Fine houses had been swept off concrete stumps and vines covered remains of masses of steel from destroyed warehouses and stores. Ships and air craft wreckage were spread over the town and the harbour. Newspaper correspondent M.C.Warren observed, "in the peace before this, Rabaul was something of a tropical paradise. But Rabaul today is shorn of its glamour and in its desolation, is neither pretty nor impressive". Approximately fifteen thousand Papua New Guinean civilians perished. Approximately one hundred local Chinese died. Approximately seven thousand Australian soldiers, sailors and airmen; and approximately seven thousand American soldiers, marines, sailors and airmen were killed in the New Guinea campaign. Over three thousand plus Indians together with Indons, Malays and Ambonese died in New Britain and not to be forgotten, the death of approx six hundred and forty New Zealand soldiers and air force. On the 6th September 2020 at 11:30 am, marks the 75th Anniversary of the end of one of the most brutal and bloodiest periods in the history of the New Guinea Islands. Lest we forget Credits: "Hostages to Freedom", Peter Stone

04.01.2022 Time for a giggle!

01.01.2022 Please take a few minutes to read of our joint project with the Wujal Wujal language croup.

01.01.2022 Garnet Agnew was the artist-in-residence who created the now defunct murals from the West Coast Hotel. Take a look at this post which displays his work for the Queenslander . Most are socially relevant, especially the new craze (then) of flying!