Cooktown Museum — Attraction in Cooktown

Housed in a stunning nineteenth-century former convent, the James Cook Museum in Cooktown is one of Queensland’s best museums, showcasing the fascinating history of this remarkable town.

A rare, nineteenth-century brick building constructed during the 1880s boom, in its form James Cook Museum illustrates one solution found to the problem of educating children in remote regions of Queensland. Five Sisters of Mercy arrived in the goldfield port of Cooktown in 1888. St Mary’s Convent opened within a year, attracting both boarders and day students. Music, dancing and deportment also were taught there to until 1941.

The museum’s exhibits are rich and varied. The Endeavour Gallery gives a fascinating insight into the seven weeks Captain James Cook and his crew spent at the site of modern Cooktown, repairing their ship after a catastrophic grounding on nearby Endeavour Reef. Two highlights of the gallery are an original anchor and a cannon from HMB Endeavour, both jettisoned from the ship in 1770 and only retrieved from the reef in the early 1970s. The Endeavour Gallery not only explores the fight for survival Cook and his men faced on the reef, it also documents the many discoveries made by the ship’s scientific team during their enforced stay at the Endeavour River. Integral to Australian history and cultural identity is the interaction between Cook and the local Guugu Yimithiir people – the most extensive he experienced in Australia – and this story is told from both perspectives.

Other museum galleries explore the changing face of Cooktown. The galleries on the ground floor – former classrooms and the school hall – house objects from pupils and Sisters who called the convent home, tales from the Palmer gold rush and a display dedicated to the rich Chinese heritage of the region. The Nuns’ cells and dormitories on the upper floor are home to exhibits detailing the strong maritime history of Cooktown and the personal stories and objects from local families who, although they endured hardship, loneliness and isolation, nevertheless carved out a life in this remote and often unforgiving location. The Indigenous Gallery provides an unmissable insight into the culture and history of the Guugu Yimithiir people.

Closed Christmas Day, Boxing Day, Good Friday and Anzac Day, James Cook Museum is an exceptional Australian...

t was an amazing start to my Christmas holiday to fulfil a lifelong ambition to visit the James Cook Historical Museum at Cooktown on Christmas Eve.The museum is in a stunning building that had been approved for demolition in the 1960's. It had been a Catholic school, so perhaps thank god it was saved and restored. Cook has rightly been called the greatest explorer of all times. His first voyage marked the beginning of British interest in our continent. When his ship HMB Endeavour struck the Great Barrier Reef on 11 June 1770. If his ship had been lost the history of this continent would have been very different. I was given what I am guessing is the usual warm and friendly reception that Jacqui Herrmann, the manager of the Museum gives visitors. To see the Endeavour's anchor and one of its original canons was inspiring. There is also the piece of the Endeavour that explored its way to the International Space Station and back. Cook would have been proud. Cooktown has a special beauty. Cook's outstanding seamanship saved his ship and it was lick that let him spend his time repairing his ship in Cooktown -...

It is overpriced and four people I was travelling with turned away because it was too expensive. While I was writing in visitor’s book, two other couples came to the door and turned away because of the high price. Consider dropping adult to $15, concession $10 and kids free or $2.

I worked around Cooktown 20 or so years ago, and I enjoyed visiting the museum. A nice mixture of cultures although information in the Chinese section is sadly lacking. I am pleased to see a fabulous effort has been given to the building restoration over the years. The newest addition could have been more “blending” into the original building layout but well done nonetheless.

Consider having a room or seperate section to view historic videos without people walking through the sitting area to enter the main building.

Loved the curations of historical memorabilia (hope someone is working on Chinese information - what are those things stored in the room called and used for I am left wondering).

Staff were lovely...