My only memory of Cooktown is of a main street with a milkbar, the main street being a dirt track. So it was a pleasant surprise to drive into such a beautiful, pristine, thriving town with a population of just over 2,000. The main street is still there but it’s bitumen with beautiful, historic buildings on either side. The town sits on the Endeavour River and is surrounded by ocean and mountains with stunning views from many vantage points including the main street.

Cooktown is, of course, of great historical importance and this is evident throughout the town. It was named after Captain James Cook who explored the east coast of Australia in 1770. Cook’s ship, HM Barque Endeavour, struck the Great Barrier Reef off Cape Tribulation and was forced to beach here on the river until it could be repaired. It was Cook who named the river after his boat. There are monuments of James Cook all around town and we visited the James Cook Museum situated in the old convent school building. The original anchor, cannon and other artefacts from the Endeavour were on display there.

There is still a Chinese influence in some of the old buildings left over from the Gold Rush in the 1870s when, just like in Croydon, the Chinese moved here and become cooks, shopkeepers and developed market gardens.

Australia has quite a violent history but from the information supplied here, it seems that Captain Cook had a good relationship with the Aborigines from this area. According to his diaries they resolved issues peacefully. This is reinforced in the Reconciliation Garden just off the main street.

As well as visiting the James Cook Museum, we called into the Cooktown History Centre run by volunteers and with terrific displays of Cooktown’s past. It focused less on James Cook and more on the progression of the town particularly since the Gold Rush, and also on the cyclones that have hit the area.

For such a small place, there is a huge amount of history on display. Before leaving, we drove to the lookout then wandered around the rest of the town, enjoying morning tea at the Botanic Gardens. This is definitely somewhere I could happily live if it wasn’t so far away from family and friends .