Seventeen Seventy, Queensland

Originally known as Round Hill, Seventeen Seventy sits within the Gladstone region of Queensland, its township is built on the second landing site of Captain James Cook and his crew HM Endeavour on May 24th of year 1770. The town got renamed Seventeen Seventy in 1970 to commemorate the bicentenary of Cook’s visit.  When the endeavor landed here, Captain Cook and his fearless botanist Joseph Banks when for a trek around the woods to collect plant specimens.
 
We went for a drive up to the point of Seventeen Seventy, it took us past a mix of old and new real estate, a fishing mariner and out towards the end a view a waves crashing on to rocky cliff edges. There was barely any people, a man and his dog and a couple of courageous fishermen scathing the rocky cliffs to catch some dinner. We enjoyed the crashing of waves and a sun heading to set at the horizon of the sea, very rare to see in this part of Australia. On display is a restored anchor from the vessel “Countless Russell”, which got blown away by cyclonic winds on 21st August 1873, the crew discharged from the ship prior to being destroyed leaving no casualties. The other site we checked out is the marker of Captain James Cook’s landing in 1770. The Cairn was built in 1926, and still in remarkable condition.
 
Being in the area of Seventeen Seventy and knowing this is where Cook landed makes you do a lot of role playing in your mind, picturing where they landed the Endeavour and where Captain Cook and Joseph Banks went for their excursion in the woods. Apart from daydreaming about history, the endless views of waves crashing into land on one side and a quiet calm fishing mariner on the other make it a great place to unwind.

Agnes Waters

Venture around the point to the most northerly surf beach on the east coast of Australia