The town of 1770 is located on the sun - drenched stretch of sub-tropical surf coastline north of Fraser Island and south of the Whitsundays.
It is the closest point to access to the Southern Great Barrier Reef, its the northern most surf beach on the East Coast of Australia, it is also one of only three places on the East Coast of Australia that a sunset is experienced over water, the water is crystal clear all year round, and the temperature is warm and sunny 300 days of the year and never goes over 32 degrees... perfect place...
The historical legacy of European settlement is rich in Seventeen Seventy, marking the site where Captain Cook stepped ashore lured by the sheer natural beauty.
Lieutenant James Cook, on Wednesday 24 May 1770, went ashore near Round Hill Head with a party of men in order to examine the country, accompanied by Joseph Banks and Dr Solander. Cook’s ship, the Endeavour, anchored about 2 miles off shore.
This was Cook’s second landing in Australia and his first in Queensland, hence the Town of 1770 being referred to as the birthplace of Queensland. Cook and his party landed within the south point of the bay where they found a channel leading into a large lagoon. ‘’In this place there is a room for a few ships to lie in great security, and a small stream of fresh water.’’ Cook wrote. Many large birds were seen, namely pelicans.
Upon the shore they saw a species of bustard, one of which was shot. It was like a large turkey and weighed seventeen and a half pounds. It was the best bird they had eaten since leaving England, and in honour of it they called the inlet Bustard Bay.
Cook’s party did not see any natives during their shore visit, but they did find campsites, fires and artefacts. From the ship, however, members of the Endeavour’s crew observed about 20 members of the Meerooni tribe on the beach. At 4.30am on Thursday 25 May 1770, Cook made sail out of the bay.
There is some conjecture about the origin of the name ‘’Agnes Water’’. Some believe the area was named after the schooner ‘’Agnes’’ which disappeared from nearby Pancake Creek in 1873. Others believe that the area was named after Agnes Clowes, the daughter of the first European settlers, Daniel and Rachel Clowes, who built large stockyards and ran cattle on the miles of unoccupied coastal country in 1878.
1770 Lt. James Cook anchored The Endeavour in Bustard Bay and landed at Round Hill Inlet on 24 May, naming Bustard Bay and Bustard Head.
Photos of Round Tree Inlet and Bustard Bay
We finished off with lunch at the The Tree Restaurant... overlooking the bay, and a little Blue Faced Honey Eater came down onto the tree at the side of us and sang to us..
We returned tonight to the restaurant for dinner on our last night here to capture the sunset over the water...
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