Down the Coast

We packed up, said our goodbye to the cat and dogs and started heading south. We are on a mission to be south in the Barrosa Valley, South Australia (some 3,500 km at the other end of Australia), by the end of November for a reunion.

Not far down the track we met up with Brett, Kylie & kids and were able to thank them for the opportunity to house sit. They had a great holiday and were happy to hear there were still 3 dogs and 1 cat at their home!!!!

I had a training course to attend in Cairns on the Monday for a position I was going to fill for a couple of weeks in the lead up to Christmas -  ho, ho ho!! We decided to stay with Rod and Ruth again in the tablelands and I drove down for the training. What was going to be a couple of nights turned out to be a week - not the first time that has happened.  Had a day out driving to Speerwah, Kuranda - up to Wrights Lookout, Barron Falls.  Had lunch in Kuranda which was very busy with visitors from all around the world!  On the way back 'home' we called into Emerald Creek Icecreamery just out of Mareeba - the best tasting ice cream!

Wrights Lookout

Barron Falls

After departing the tablelands our first stop was to catch up with Chris and Mike who were house sitting just out of Yungaburra. The timing worked well as we celebrated Mike's birthday and followed up in a couple of days with Helens.  Was great to catch up again - we may not see them for a while as our travel plans do not look like coinciding in the near future.  From Yungaburra we travelled through Millaa Millaa, Tully, Cardwell.  Was going to stay at CMCA RV Park in Ingham but did not have a grey water tank nor a tap on the outlet so Council Rules we could not stay!!! Drove onto free camp - Rollingstone Bushy Parker Park where we stayed for the night - went to the Pub for tea (very average).

Off again down the Bruce Highway passing through Townsville and Ayr, stopping at Guthalungra Rest Area for lunch.  Stayed night at Gunnago Caravan Park approx 10kms north of Proserpine - nice spot.  Met up with Phil and Rosemary who have been on the road for 18 years!  From here we continued on the Bruce Highway stopping for lunch at Clairview and camping at St Lawrence Campground - plenty of room and clean amenities $10 (no power/water).  Flocks of Magpie Geese in the wetlands and heaps of kangaroos around.

St Lawrence camping area

Kangaroos feeding as the sun sets accompanied by hundreds of Magpie Geese in background 

St Lawrence camp area is also the local rodeo grounds

Drove to Yepoon and stayed a few nights with David & Elaine enjoying the warm weather while we can as have heard down south is still freezing cold!

Cooktown Museum and History Centre

In 1876-77 the Post & Telegraph Office was built in Cooktown however the building was taken over by the Council in 1893 after a fire destroyed their original offices.  Now it is home to the History Centre and staffed entirely by volunteers from the Cooktown & District Historical Society.

This is a wonderful place to visit as it showcases life through the ages in Cooktown with award winning displays, and well worth a visit.  Displays include early mining, the Cooktown Railway and the wharf area. There are many historical photos enhancing the area along with stories of life in times past.  Incredible to read all the cyclones, fires and hard times this community has encountered and how they are able to build themselves back up again.

Cooktown History Centre (next to the post office which was erected in 1887)

Excellent display cabinets following Cooktown's time line

Scetch map of Cooktown in 1874 with historic photos showing buildings in the town

The building in which the James Cook Museum is housed was completed in 1889 as St Mary's Convent of Mercy boarding school. In 1941 World War II resulted in the outbreak of war in the Pacific and women and children, including the remaining 4 sisters and 13 children at the Convent, were evacuated to Cairns.  By 1943 the Convent building was occupied by a Fleet Radio Unit Detachment of the US 7th Fleet, with the attic used as a radio room, the first floor as living quarters and the ground floor as storage for Convent furniture.  The Convent was returned to the Sisters at the end of the war, but was never occupied by them again.  It fell into a state of disrepair and became the temporary home for Hans Looser and his family for 5 months in 1955.

James Cook Museum

Administered by the National Trust of Queensland, the James Cook Museum is considered one of the most significant Trust museums open to the public.  Highlights include displays of the original H.M. Bark Endeavour anchor and cannon, Cook's diary extracts, stories from local Aboriginal elders, the Palmer River Gold Rush, everyday life in early Cook's Town and the Chinese who flocked to this area.

The Cooktown Manual Telephone Exchange operated from 1973 to 1985 when the Exchange became the last coastal manual system in Australia to be converted to automation

This spiral staircase was used by the girls boarding in the convent as only the Sisters were allowed to use the main wooden staircase.

This display showed early dental equipment - certainly would not be keen to sit in this chair and have work done with instruments displayed!

The Palmer Goldfield differed from earlier Australian goldfields by its high Chinese population.  By 1877 the number of Chinese on the Palmer had reached 18,000, over 90% of the fields population.  An infrastructure to support the Chinese population grew with the establishment of many market gardens, the construction of two Joss Houses in town and a shrine at the Cooktown Cemetery.  Chinese cooks were employed at many of the hotels and a Chinese Consulate was appointed in the late 19th Century

One of the displays in the Chinese Section of the Museum - Ladies shoes made for bound feet