COOKTOWN

cooktown, a seaport of banks county, queensland, australia, at the mouth of the endeavour river, about 1050 m. direct n.n.w. of brisbane. it is visited by the ocean steamers of several lines, and is the centre of a very extensive _beche-de-mer_ and pearl fishery. tin and gold are worked in the district, in which also good coffee and rice are grown. cooktown is the port of the palmer gold-fields, and a railway runs to laura on the gold-fields, 67 m. w. by s. of cooktown. it is the chief port of queensland for the new guinea trade; and is also the seat of a roman catholic vicariate apostolic whose bishop has jurisdiction over the whole of queensland north of lat. 18° 50'. in 1770 captain cook here beached his ship the "endeavour," to repair the damage caused by her striking a reef in the neighbourhood of the estuary, which he could only clear by throwing his guns overboard. cooktown became a municipality in 1876. the population of the town and district in 1901 was 1936.