1770 and Agnes Water

Living in the center of the east coast of Australia means that in a matter of hours one can be in any number of interesting places and, in particular, beautiful beaches.

Agnes Water is Queensland’s northern-most surf beach and is last in a line of beautiful, unspoilt beaches that follow the Queensland coastline. Agnes Water and its sister township of 1770 are a unique place to experience a range of outdoor activities, and is also one of the closest points to the outer Great Barrier Reef, with tours departing to either Lady Musgrave Island or Fitzroy Reef. Like much of the Queensland coastline, the ocean, sand, rock structures, and greenery are magnificent! It is an amazing thing to me to be on this side of the Pacific Ocean and to gaze from the East coastline of Australia out to sea.

The Town Of 1770, the “birthplace of Queensland”, is a picturesque seaside village surrounded on three sides by the Coral Sea and Bustard Bay. Its historic value is as the second landing site in Australia of James Cook and the crew of the Endeavour in May 1770. The area is rich in wildlife and natural beauty and offers scenic vistas in every direction. You can see the sun set and the sun rise from the same point at 1770.

The following is a picture of the inlet that Captain Cook sailed into on his second landing on the Australian shores.

“On Wednesday 24 May 1770, Lieutenant James Cook anchored the Endeavour about 3 km off this part of the coast. The ship was 32 metres by 9 metres and weighed 374 tonnes. Provisions included 81 tonnes of water, 9.64 tonnes of bread in bags, 5460 litres of beer, 4000 pieces of beef and 1.13 tonnes of raisins.”

“Cook went ashore near Round Hill Head with botanist Joseph Banks and his assistant Daniel Solander. The party landed within the south point of the bay where they found a channel leading into a large lagoon. Cook’s landing party noted many pelicans and, upon the shore, a species of bustard, one of which was shot. They considered it 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 Aborigines during their shore visit, but they did find campsites, fires and artifacts. From the ship, however, members of the Endeavour’s crew, observed about 20 members of the Meerooni tribe on the beach. The Endeavour set sail at 4:30 the following morning.”

Grevillea

Mangroves

We had the most amazingly cute little bungalow to call our “home” during our time here. It was great. Plus, there was a really nice swimming pool too. Although it looks shallow, you actually cannot stand up in the deep end.

We found the beach to be such a great place to walk down. There was a lot of sport activities going on, too. I can imagine living here and taking lots of walks.

You might notice in the picture below that these parts of Queensland the earth is red – much like parts of Hawaii. Here too, you will find crops of sugar cane.