About Us

This website has been established by the Cooktown Chamber of Commerce and Tourism and Cook Shire Council in co-operation with the many small businesses within the vibrant tourism industry of Cooktown and Cape York Peninsula.
The Queensland Government supported this Tourism Development Project through the “Blueprint for the Bush” programme.

Thanks also for the involvement of the tourism industry and residents of Cape York Peninsula who have supplied information and images for the website.

The website is maintained by Cook Shire Council.

Cook Shire offers a relaxed lifestyle in a beautiful environment without foregoing modern services and technologies.

Cooktown is the central hub of the shire and services the outlying towns of Ayton, Rossville, Laura, Lakeland and Coen.

Cooktown is a beautiful, unspoilt small historic coastal town surrounded by stunning countryside. It is also Australia's closest town to the Great Barrier Reef. With its laid-back atmosphere and friendly people, this is the perfect base to explore the rugged beauty of the lower Cape, noted for its pristine environment and Aboriginal culture.

One of Australia's most historically significant townships, Cooktown, nestled between Mount Cook and the mouth of the Endeavour River, was the site for the beaching of the HM Bark Endeavour in 1770 under the command of Lt James Cook.

The  pioneering spirit that opened and developed this region is still alive and strong in the 21st century.

Cook Shire .... the history is just the beginning.