A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most sides. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula .
124-483: Cape York Peninsula is a peninsula located in Far North Queensland , Australia. It is the largest wilderness in northern Australia. The land is mostly flat and about half of the area is used for grazing cattle . The relatively undisturbed eucalyptus -wooded savannahs , tropical rainforests and other types of habitat are now recognised and preserved for their global environmental significance. Although much of
248-461: A basin . This may create peninsulas, and occurred for example in the Keweenaw Peninsula . In the case of formation from meltwater, melting glaciers deposit sediment and form moraines , which act as dams for the meltwater. This may create bodies of water that surround the land, forming peninsulas. If deposition formed the peninsula, the peninsula was composed of sedimentary rock , which
372-469: A land council , has fought for native title rights, and has won such rights over 45% per cent of the region by around 2018. On 25 November 2021, 2,188 km (845 sq mi) of land on the eastern side of the peninsula were handed back to the Kuuku Ya'u and Uutaalnganu peoples, in a native title claim that was lodged seven years prior. The landmark ruling was delivered by Justice Debra Mortimer of
496-617: A British explorer, cartographer and naval officer famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean and to New Zealand and Australia in particular. He made detailed maps of Newfoundland prior to making three voyages to the Pacific, during which he achieved the first recorded European contact with the eastern coastline of Australia and the Hawaiian Islands and the first recorded circumnavigation of New Zealand. Cook joined
620-548: A Scottish farm labourer from Ednam in Roxburghshire , and his locally born wife, Grace Pace (1702–1765), from Thornaby-on-Tees . In 1736, his family moved to Airey Holme farm at Great Ayton , where his father's employer, Thomas Skottowe, paid for him to attend the local school. In 1741, after five years of schooling, he began work for his father, who had been promoted to farm manager. Despite not being formally educated, he became capable in mathematics, astronomy and charting by
744-572: A biographer of Cook, described Cook as being "over six feet high" with "dark brown hair", "bushy eyebrows", and "small brown eyes". Cook's first posting was with HMS Eagle , serving as able seaman and master's mate under Captain Joseph Hamar for his first year aboard, and Captain Hugh Palliser thereafter. In October and November 1755, he took part in Eagle' s capture of one French warship and
868-478: A coconut, attempted to distract Cook and his men as a large crowd began to form at the shore. At this point, the king began to understand that Cook was his enemy. As Cook turned his back to help launch the boats, he was struck on the head by the villagers and then stabbed to death as he fell on his face in the surf . He was first struck on the head with a club by a chief named Kalaimanokahoʻowaha or Kanaʻina (namesake of Charles Kana'ina ) and then stabbed by one of
992-602: A final sweep across the South Atlantic from Cape Horn and surveyed, mapped, and took possession for Britain of South Georgia , which had been explored by the English merchant Anthony de la Roché in 1675. Cook also discovered and named Clerke Rocks and the South Sandwich Islands ("Sandwich Land"). He then turned north to South Africa and from there continued back to England. His reports upon his return home put to rest
1116-618: A formal burial at sea . Clerke assumed leadership of the expedition and made a final attempt to pass through the Bering Strait. He died of tuberculosis on 22 August 1779 and John Gore , a veteran of Cook's first voyage, took command of Resolution and of the expedition. James King replaced Gore in command of Discovery . The expedition returned home, reaching England in October 1780. After their arrival in England, King completed Cook's account of
1240-457: A hero among the scientific community. Among the general public, however, the aristocratic botanist Joseph Banks was a greater hero. Banks even attempted to take command of Cook's second voyage but removed himself from the voyage before it began, and Johann Reinhold Forster and his son Georg Forster were taken on as scientists for the voyage. Cook's son George was born five days before he left for his second voyage. Shortly after his return from
1364-549: A hurricane in the West Indies ), Elizabeth (1767–1771), Joseph (1768–1768), George (1772–1772) and Hugh (1776–1793, who died of scarlet fever while a student at Christ's College, Cambridge ). When not at sea, Cook lived in the East End of London . He attended St Paul's Church, Shadwell , where his son James was baptised. Cook has no direct descendants – all of his children died before having children of their own. Sir Walter Besant ,
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#17328523663111488-487: A large percentage (~60%) are Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders . The administrative and commercial centre for much of Cape York Peninsula is Cooktown , located in its far southeastern corner while the peninsula's largest settlement is the mining town Weipa on the Gulf of Carpentaria. The remainder is extremely sparsely populated, with about half the population living in very small settlements and cattle ranches. Along
1612-402: A low-lying land link. Another link existed between Arnhem Land and New Guinea, at times enclosing an enormous freshwater lake (Lake Carpentaria) in the centre of what is now the Gulf of Carpentaria. Australia and New Guinea remained connected in this way until the shallow Torres Strait was last flooded around 8,000 years ago. Today the peninsula has a population of only about 18,000, of which
1736-529: A multitude of Australian Aboriginal sign languages . Some of these languages are being acquired by children or are spoken by all generations in remote communities. Most Wik languages are being quickly absorbed by Wik-Mungkan , which seems to be the only aboriginal language on the peninsula that is developing very quickly, as it is the second language of the Wikalkan , Wik-Ngathana , and Wikngenchera . Djagaraga (also known as Yadhaigana, Dyagaraga and Yagulleone)
1860-545: A penal settlement in 1788. Artists also sailed on Cook's first voyage. Sydney Parkinson was heavily involved in documenting the botanists' findings, completing 264 drawings before his death near the end of the voyage. They were of immense scientific value to British botanists. Cook's second expedition included William Hodges , who produced notable landscape paintings of Tahiti, Easter Island , and other locations. Several officers who served under Cook went on to distinctive accomplishments. William Bligh , Cook's sailing master ,
1984-708: A rescue party to the other two who had been unable to continue. The tip of the peninsula (Cape York) was finally reached by Europeans in 1864 when the brothers Francis Lascelles (Frank) and Alexander William Jardine , along with eight companions, drove a mob of cattle from Rockhampton to the new settlement of Somerset (on Cape York) where the Jardines' father was commander. En route they lost most of their horses, many of their stores and fought pitched battles with Aboriginal people, finally arriving in March 1865. The first known contact between European and Aboriginal people occurred on
2108-596: A result, from its geological history, "the flora and fauna of Cape York Peninsula are a complex mixture of Gondwanan relics, Australian isolationists and Asian or New Guinean invaders" (p. 41). Birds of the peninsula include buff-breasted buttonquail ( Turnix olivii ), golden-shouldered parrot ( Psephotus chrysopterygius ), lovely fairywren ( Malurus amabilis ), white-streaked honeyeater ( Trichodere cockerelli ), and yellow-spotted honeyeater ( Meliphaga notata ) while some such as pied oystercatcher are found in other parts of Australia but have important populations on
2232-485: A second fruitless attempt to find the supposed continent. On this leg of the voyage, he brought a young Tahitian named Omai , who proved to be somewhat less knowledgeable about the Pacific than Tupaia had been on the first voyage. On his return voyage to New Zealand in 1774, Cook landed at the Friendly Islands , Easter Island , Norfolk Island , New Caledonia , and Vanuatu . Before returning to England, Cook made
2356-475: A settlement and British colonial outpost. After his departure from Botany Bay, he continued northwards. He stopped at Bustard Bay (now known as Seventeen Seventy ) on 23 May 1770. On 24 May, Cook and Banks and others went ashore. Continuing north, on 11 June a mishap occurred when Endeavour ran aground on a shoal of the Great Barrier Reef , and then "nursed into a river mouth on 18 June 1770". The ship
2480-573: A single visit, Cook charted the majority of the North American northwest coastline on world maps for the first time, determined the extent of Alaska, and closed the gaps in Russian (from the west) and Spanish (from the south) exploratory probes of the northern limits of the Pacific. By the second week of August 1778, Cook was through the Bering Strait, sailing into the Chukchi Sea . He headed northeast up
2604-520: A talent for surveying and cartography and was responsible for mapping much of the entrance to the Saint Lawrence River during the siege, thus allowing General Wolfe to make his famous stealth attack during the 1759 Battle of the Plains of Abraham . Cook's surveying ability was also put to use in mapping the jagged coast of Newfoundland in the 1760s, aboard HMS Grenville . He surveyed
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#17328523663112728-481: A tall dense grass layer and varying densities of trees, predominantly eucalypt of which the most common is Darwin stringybark ( Eucalyptus tetrodonta ). These various habitats are home to about 3300 species of flowering plants and almost the entire area of Cape York Peninsula (99.6%) still retains its native vegetation and is little fragmented. Although abundant and fully functioning on the peninsula, tropical savannahs are now rare and highly degraded in other parts of
2852-523: Is an Australian Aboriginal language from the tip of Cape York. The language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the Northern Peninsula Area Regional Council . Traditionally the language was spoken on Eastern Cape York particularly in the localities of Albany Island and Mount Adolphus Island . Linngithigh (also known as Winda Winda and Linginiti) is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken by
2976-661: Is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken on Western Cape York in the Weipa area taking in Albatross Bay and Mission River . The language region includes areas within the local government boundaries of Weipa Town Council and Cook Shire . Uradhi (also known as Anggamudi, Ankamuti, Atampaya, Bawtjathi, and Lotiga) is an Australian Aboriginal language of the Western Cape York Peninsula. The traditional language region includes north of Mapoon and Duyfken Point and east of
3100-612: Is an Australian Aboriginal language. Its traditional language region is in Western Cape York within the local government areas of Aboriginal Shire of Kowanyama and Shire of Cook , in the catchments of the Coleman River and Mitchell River . Following the removal of Aboriginal people from their traditional lands, it is also spoken in Pormpuraaw and Kowanyama . Kuuku Ya'u (also known as Gugu Yau, Yao, Ya'o, Koko Ya'o and Koka-yao)
3224-506: Is an Australian Aboriginal language. The traditional language area of Kuuku Ya'u includes landscape within the local government boundaries of the Cook Shire : Eastern Cape York, Uu'ungun south to Claudie River and hinterland. Kuuk Thaayorre (also known as Koko-Daiyuri, Kuku Yak, Thayorre, and used as a generic name for several related languages/dialects) is an Australian Aboriginal Language spoken on Western Cape York Peninsula, particularly in
3348-469: Is apparent today (classified in USDA soil taxonomy as orthents ). It is because of this extraordinary soil poverty that the region is so thinly settled: the soils are so unworkable and unresponsive to fertilisers that attempts to grow commercial crops have usually failed. The climate on Cape York Peninsula is tropical savanna in the south, with a heavy monsoon season from November to April, during which time
3472-557: Is bordered by water on three sides (north, east and west). There is no clear demarcation to the south, although the official boundary in the Cape York Peninsula Heritage Act 2007 of Queensland runs along at about 16°S latitude. At the peninsula's widest point, it is 430 km (270 mi) from the Bloomfield River in the southeast, across to the west coast just south of the aboriginal community of Kowanyama . It
3596-589: Is currently poised to protect 13 of Cape York Peninsula's wild rivers under the Wild Rivers Act 2005. The peninsula is formed from the northern part of the Great Dividing Range, folded during the Carboniferous period some 300 million years ago, when Australia collided with what is now parts of South America and New Zealand. The range has experienced significant erosion since. Around 40 million years ago,
3720-496: Is debate on whether he can be held responsible for paving the way for British imperialism and colonialism . James Cook was born on 7 November [ O.S. 27 October] 1728 in the village of Marton in the North Riding of Yorkshire and baptised on 14 November (N.S.) in the parish church of St Cuthbert , where his name can be seen in the church register. He was the second of eight children of James Cook (1693–1779),
3844-497: Is high, ranging from over 2,000 mm (79 in) in the Iron Range and north of Weipa to about 700 mm (28 in) at the southern border. Almost all this rain falls between November and April, and only on the eastern slopes of the Iron Range is the median rainfall between June and September above 5 mm (0.2 in). Between January and March, however, the median monthly rainfall ranges from about 170 mm (7 in) in
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3968-583: Is possible for a man to go". On 25 May 1768, the Admiralty commissioned Cook to command a scientific voyage to the Pacific Ocean. The purpose of the voyage was to observe and record the 1769 transit of Venus across the Sun which, when combined with observations from other places, would help to determine the distance of the Earth from the Sun. Cook, at age 39, was promoted to lieutenant to grant him sufficient status to take
4092-523: Is some 660 km (410 mi) from the southern border of Cook Shire, to the tip of Cape York. At the tip of the peninsula lies Cape York, the northernmost point on the Australian mainland. It was named by Lieutenant James Cook on 21 August 1770 in honour of Prince Edward, Duke of York and Albany , a brother of King George III of the United Kingdom , who had died three years earlier: The point of
4216-577: The Duyfken was the first European to land in Australia, reaching the Cape York Peninsula. In February 1606, Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon landed near the site of what is now Weipa , on the western shore of Cape York Peninsula. This was the first recorded landing of a European in Australia, and it also marked the first reported contact between European and Aboriginal Australian people. Edmund Kennedy
4340-578: The Baltic Sea . After passing his examinations in 1752, he soon progressed through the merchant navy ranks, starting with his promotion in that year to mate aboard the collier brig Friendship . In 1755, within a month of being offered command of this vessel, he volunteered for service in the Royal Navy, when Britain was re-arming for what was to become the Seven Years' War . Despite the need to start back at
4464-644: The Copley Gold Medal for completing his second voyage without losing a man to scurvy . Nathaniel Dance-Holland painted his portrait; he dined with James Boswell ; he was described in the House of Lords as "the first navigator in Europe". But he could not be kept away from the sea. A third voyage was planned, and Cook volunteered to find the Northwest Passage . He travelled to the Pacific and hoped to travel east to
4588-774: The Federal Court of Australia , sitting at the Supreme Court of Queensland in Cairns . In December 2022 the Federal Court recognised the native title claims for the Kaurareg , Kulkulgal , Kemer Kemer Meriam , Ankamuthi , and Gudang / Yadhaykenu peoples. Cape York Peninsula supports a complex mosaic of intact tropical rainforests, tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannahs, shrublands, heath lands , wetlands, wild rivers and mangrove swamps. The savannah woodlands consist typically of
4712-752: The Indo-Australian tectonic plate began to split apart from the ancient supercontinent Gondwana . As it collided with the Pacific Plate on its northward journey, the high mountain ranges of central New Guinea emerged around 5 million years ago. In the lee of this collision zone, the ancient rock formations of what is now Cape York Peninsula remained largely undisturbed. Throughout the Pleistocene epoch Australia and New Guinea were alternately land-linked and separated by water. During periods of glaciation and resulting low sea levels, Cape York Peninsula provided
4836-569: The McIlwraith Range on the eastern side around Coen . The backbone of Cape York Peninsula is the peninsula ridge, part of Australia's Great Dividing Range . This mountain range is made up of ancient (1.5 billion-year-old) Precambrian and Palaeozoic rocks. To the east and west of the peninsula ridge lie the Carpentaria and Laura Basins, respectively, themselves made up of ancient Mesozoic sediments. There are several outstanding landforms on
4960-506: The dry season , those rivers are reduced to a series of waterholes and sandy beds. Yet, with the arrival of torrential rains in the wet season , they swell to mighty waterways, spreading across extensive floodplains and coastal wetlands and giving life to a vast array of freshwater and wetland species. On the Eastern slopes, the shorter, faster-flowing Jacky Jacky Creek, Olive, Pascoe, Lockhart, Stewart, Jeannie and Endeavour Rivers flow towards
5084-460: The " Bay of Despair ". While in Newfoundland, Cook also conducted astronomical observations, in particular of the eclipse of the sun on 5 August 1766. By obtaining an accurate estimate of the time of the start and finish of the eclipse, and comparing these with the timings at a known position in England, it was possible to calculate the longitude of the observation site in Newfoundland. This result
Cape York Peninsula - Misplaced Pages Continue
5208-558: The 16th century. A peninsula is generally defined as a piece of land surrounded on most sides by water. A peninsula may be bordered by more than one body of water, and the body of water does not have to be an ocean or a sea. A piece of land on a very tight river bend or one between two rivers is sometimes said to form a peninsula, for example in the New Barbadoes Neck in New Jersey , United States. A peninsula may be connected to
5332-404: The Admiralty and Royal Society at a crucial moment both in his career and in the direction of British overseas discovery. Cook's maps were used into the 20th century, with copies being referenced by those sailing Newfoundland's waters for 200 years. Following his exertions in Newfoundland, Cook wrote that he intended to go not only "farther than any man has been before me, but as far as I think it
5456-706: The Atlantic, while a simultaneous voyage travelled the opposite route. On his last voyage, Cook again commanded HMS Resolution , while Captain Charles Clerke commanded HMS Discovery . The voyage was ostensibly planned to return the Pacific Islander Omai to Tahiti, or so the public was led to believe. The trip's principal goal was to locate a Northwest Passage around the American continent. After dropping Omai at Tahiti, Cook travelled north and in 1778 became
5580-678: The British merchant navy as a teenager and joined the Royal Navy in 1755. He served during the Seven Years' War and subsequently surveyed and mapped much of the entrance to the St. Lawrence River during the siege of Quebec , which brought him to the attention of the Admiralty and the Royal Society . This acclaim came at a crucial moment for the direction of British overseas exploration, and it led to his commission in 1768 as commander of HMS Endeavour for
5704-857: The Coral Sea, providing important freshwater and nutrients to the healthiest section of the Great Barrier Reef . On their way, those wild, undisturbed rivers are lined with dense rainforests, sand dunes or mangroves. The floodplains of the Laura Basin, which are protected in the Rinyirru and Jack River National Parks, are crossed by the Morehead, Hann, North Kennedy, Laura, Jack and Normanby Rivers. The Peninsula's river catchments are noted for their exceptional hydrological integrity. With little disturbance on both water flows and vegetation cover throughout entire catchments, Cape York Peninsula has been identified as one of
5828-498: The English coast. His first assignment was aboard the collier Freelove , and he spent several years on this and various other coasters , sailing between the Tyne and London. As part of his apprenticeship, Cook applied himself to the study of algebra, geometry, trigonometry, navigation and astronomy – all skills he would need one day to command his own ship. His three-year apprenticeship completed, Cook began working on merchant ships in
5952-462: The Indigenous population without success. At first Cook named the inlet "Sting-Ray Harbour" after the many stingrays found there. This was later changed to "Botanist Bay" and finally Botany Bay after the unique specimens retrieved by the botanists Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander . This first landing site was later to be promoted (particularly by Joseph Banks) as a suitable candidate for situating
6076-536: The K1 chronometer made by Larcum Kendall , which was the shape of a large pocket watch, 5 inches (13 cm) in diameter. It was a copy of the H4 clock made by John Harrison , which proved to be the first to keep accurate time at sea when used on the ship Deptford ' s journey to Jamaica in 1761–62. He succeeded in circumnavigating the world on his first voyage without losing a single man to scurvy , an unusual accomplishment at
6200-607: The Linngithigh people. The Linngithigh language region includes landscape within the local government boundaries of the Cook Shire Council : Western Cape York, Winda Winda Creek, Mission River , and Archer River . Luthigh (also known as Lotiga, Tepiti and Uradhi, see also Uradhi related languages) is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken by the Luthigh people. The traditional language area for Luthigh includes landscape within
6324-702: The Main, which forms one side of the Passage before mentioned, and which is the Northern Promontory of this Country, I have named York Cape, in honour of his late Royal Highness, the Duke of York. The tropical landscapes are among the most stable in the world. Long undisturbed by tectonic activity, the peninsula is an extremely eroded, almost level low plain dominated by meandering rivers and vast floodplains , with some very low hills rising to 800 m (2,600 ft) elevation in
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#17328523663116448-623: The McIllwraith Range- Iron Range area. The Gondwanan flora of this area includes Araucariaceae and Podocarpaceae conifers and Arthrochilus , Corybas , and Calochilus orchids. In all, this rainforest contains at least 1000 different plants, including 100 rare or threatened species, and 16% of Australia's orchid species. On poor, dry soils tropical heathlands can be found. Northeast Cape York Peninsula supports Australia's largest areas of this highly diverse ecosystem. The extensive wetlands on Cape York Peninsula are "among
6572-770: The NSW Government at the Colonial and Indian Exhibition in London. In 1887 the London-based Agent-General for the New South Wales Government, Saul Samuel, bought John Mackrell's items and also acquired items belonging to the other relatives Reverend Canon Frederick Bennett, Mrs Thomas Langton, H.M.C. Alexander, and William Adams. The collection remained with the Colonial Secretary of NSW until 1894, when it
6696-527: The Oregon coast at approximately 44°30′ north latitude, naming Cape Foulweather , after the bad weather which forced his ships south to about 43° north before they could begin their exploration of the coast northward. He unknowingly sailed past the Strait of Juan de Fuca and soon after entered Nootka Sound on Vancouver Island . He anchored near the First Nations village of Yuquot . Cook's two ships remained in Nootka Sound from 29 March to 26 April 1778, in what Cook called Ship Cove, now Resolution Cove, at
6820-455: The Pacific , Cook encountered the Hawaiian islands in 1779. He was killed while attempting to take hostage Kalaniʻōpuʻu , chief of the island of Hawaii , during a dispute. He left a legacy of scientific and geographical knowledge that influenced his successors well into the 20th century, and numerous memorials worldwide have been dedicated to him. He remains controversial for his occasionally violent encounters with indigenous peoples and there
6944-405: The Shore as to distinguish several people upon the Sea beach they appear'd to be of a very dark or black Colour but whether this was the real colour of their skins or the C[l]othes they might have on I know not." Endeavour continued northwards along the coastline, keeping the land in sight with Cook charting and naming landmarks as he went. On 29 April, Cook and crew made their first landfall on
7068-441: The Terra Australis was believed to lie further south. Despite this evidence to the contrary, Alexander Dalrymple and others of the Royal Society still believed that a massive southern continent should exist. Cook commanded HMS Resolution on this voyage, while Tobias Furneaux commanded its companion ship, HMS Adventure . Cook's expedition circumnavigated the globe at an extreme southern latitude , becoming one of
7192-431: The Torres Strait in New Guinea with the most variety being found in the rainforest areas. Most of the Cape York Peninsula is drier than nearby New Guinea which limits the rainforest plants of that island from migrating across to Australia. Tropical rainforests cover an area of 748,000 ha (1,850,000 acres), or 5.6 percent of the total land area of Cape York Peninsula. Rainforests depend on some level of rainfall throughout
7316-629: The adventurous, but rewarding, drive to the tip of Cape York, the northernmost point of mainland Australia. Some of the world's most extensive and ancient Aboriginal rock painting galleries surround the town of Laura, some of which are available for public viewing. There is also a new interpretive centre from which information on the rock art and local culture is available and tours can be arranged. Over 30 Aboriginal languages are spoken on Cape York Peninsula, including Linngithigh , Umpila , Wik Mungkan , Wik-Me'nh , Wik-Ngathan , Kugu Nganhcara , Guugu Yalandji , Guugu Yimithirr , Kuuk Thaayorre and
7440-592: The aid of Tupaia , a Tahitian priest who had joined the expedition, Cook was the first European to communicate with the Māori . However, at least eight Māori were killed in violent encounters. Cook then voyaged west, reaching the southeastern coast of Australia near today's Point Hicks on 19 April 1770, and in doing so his expedition became the first recorded Europeans to have encountered its eastern coastline. On 23 April, he made his first recorded direct observation of Aboriginal Australians at Brush Island near Bawley Point , noting in his journal: "... and were so near
7564-519: The angle of the sun or a star above the horizon with an instrument such as a backstaff or quadrant . Longitude was more difficult to measure accurately because it requires precise knowledge of the time difference between points on the surface of the Earth. The Earth turns a full 360 degrees relative to the Sun each day. Thus longitude corresponds to time: 15 degrees every hour, or 1 degree every 4 minutes. Cook gathered accurate longitude measurements during his first voyage from his navigational skills, with
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#17328523663117688-441: The archipelago for some eight weeks, he made landfall at Kealakekua Bay on Hawai'i Island , the largest island in the Hawaiian Archipelago. Cook's arrival coincided with the Makahiki , a Hawaiian harvest festival of worship for the Polynesian god Lono . Coincidentally the form of Cook's ship, HMS Resolution , or more particularly the mast formation, sails and rigging, resembled certain significant artefacts that formed part of
7812-421: The area around Pormpuraaw ( Edward River ). The Thaayorre language region includes the landscape within Pormpuraaw Community Council and the Cook Shire Council . Kugu Yi'anh is a language of Cape York. The traditional language area of Kugu Yi'anh includes areas within Cape York. Kugu Nganhcara (also known as Wik, Wiknantjara, Wik Nganychara, Wik Ngencherr) is a traditional language of the area which includes
7936-486: The bottom of the naval hierarchy, Cook realised his career would advance more quickly in military service and entered the Navy at Wapping on 17 June 1755. Cook married Elizabeth Batts , the daughter of Samuel Batts, keeper of the Bell Inn in Wapping and one of his mentors, on 21 December 1762 at St Margaret's Church, Barking , Essex. The couple had six children: James (1763–1794), Nathaniel (1764–1780, lost aboard HMS Thunderer which foundered with all hands in
8060-429: The case of Florida , continental drift, marine sediment, and marine transgressions were all contributing factors to its shape. In the case of formation from glaciers (e.g., the Antarctic Peninsula or Cape Cod ), peninsulas can be created due to glacial erosion , meltwater or deposition . If erosion formed the peninsula, softer and harder rocks were present, and since the glacier only erodes softer rock, it formed
8184-625: The coast of Alaska until he was blocked by sea ice at a latitude of 70°44′ north. Cook then sailed west to the Siberian coast, and then southeast down the Siberian coast back to the Bering Strait. By early September 1778, he was back in the Bering Sea to begin the trip to the Sandwich (Hawaiian) Islands. He became increasingly frustrated on this voyage and perhaps began to suffer from a stomach ailment; it has been speculated that this led to irrational behaviour towards his crew, such as forcing them to eat walrus meat, which they had pronounced inedible. Cook returned to Hawaii in 1779. After sailing around
8308-491: The coast strip to the north of Port Musgrave (Angkamuthi country) incorporating the mouth of the Ducie River , the lower reaches of the Dulhunty River and the upper reaches of the Skardon River in the north. Following the displacement of Indigenous people by British settlement, it was also spoken in the Northern Peninsula Area Region including the communities of New Mapoon , Injinoo and Cowal Creek . Yir Yiront (also known as Yiront, Jirjoront, Yir-yiront, and Kokomindjan)
8432-435: The coming of Cook is often used to signify the onset of the colonisation . Cook carried several scientists on his voyages; they made significant observations and discoveries. Two botanists, Joseph Banks and the Swede Daniel Solander, sailed on the first voyage. The two collected over 3,000 plant species. Banks subsequently strongly promoted British settlement of Australia, leading to the establishment of New South Wales as
8556-414: The command. For its part, the Royal Society agreed that Cook would receive a one hundred guinea gratuity in addition to his Naval pay. The expedition sailed aboard HMS Endeavour , departing England on 26 August 1768. Cook and his crew rounded Cape Horn and continued westward across the Pacific, arriving at Tahiti on 13 April 1769, where the observations of the transit were made. However,
8680-421: The continent at a beach now known as Silver Beach on Botany Bay ( Kamay Botany Bay National Park ). Two Gweagal men of the Dharawal / Eora nation opposed their landing and in the confrontation one of them was shot and wounded. Cook and his crew stayed at Botany Bay for a week, collecting water, timber, fodder and botanical specimens and exploring the surrounding area. Cook sought to establish relations with
8804-403: The documents and memorabilia were transferred to the Mitchell Library in the State Library of New South Wales . The provenance of the collection shows that the objects remained in the hands of Cook's widow Elizabeth Cook, and her descendants, until 1886. In this year John Mackrell, the great-nephew of Isaac Smith , Elizabeth Cook's cousin, organised the display of this collection at the request of
8928-459: The effects contained in her, nor obstruct her immediate return to England by detaining her or sending her into any other part of Europe or to America; but that you treat the said Captain Cook and his people with all civility and kindness ... as common friends to mankind." A U.S. coin, the 1928 Hawaii Sesquicentennial half-dollar , carries Cook's image. Minted for the 150th anniversary of his discovery of
9052-562: The entire coastline that he had just explored as British territory. Cook returned to England via Batavia (modern Jakarta , Indonesia), where many in his crew succumbed to malaria , and then the Cape of Good Hope , arriving at the island of Saint Helena on 30 April 1771. The ship finally returned to England on 12 July 1771, anchoring in The Downs, with Cook going to Deal. Cook's journals were published upon his return, and he became something of
9176-532: The few places where tropical water cycles remain essentially intact. Cape York Peninsula contributes as much as a quarter of Australia's surface runoff . Indeed, with only about 2.7 percent of Australia's land area, it produces more run-off than all of Australia south of the Tropic of Capricorn . Tapping those heavy tropical rainfalls, the peninsula's rivers are also of particular importance for replenishing central Australia's Great Artesian Basin . The Queensland Government
9300-725: The first European to begin formal contact with the Hawaiian Islands . After his initial landfall in January 1778 at Waimea harbour, Kauai , Cook named the archipelago the "Sandwich Islands" after the fourth Earl of Sandwich —the acting First Lord of the Admiralty . From the Sandwich Islands, Cook sailed north and then northeast to explore the west coast of North America north of the Spanish settlements in Alta California . He sighted
9424-562: The first of three Pacific voyages. In these voyages, Cook sailed thousands of miles across largely uncharted areas of the globe. He mapped lands from New Zealand to Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean in greater detail and on a scale not previously charted by Western explorers. He surveyed and named features, and recorded islands and coastlines on European maps for the first time. He displayed a combination of seamanship, superior surveying and cartographic skills, physical courage, and an ability to lead men in adverse conditions. During his third voyage in
9548-607: The first to cross the Antarctic Circle on 17 January 1773. In the Antarctic fog, Resolution and Adventure became separated. Furneaux made his way to New Zealand, where he lost some of his men during an encounter with Māori, and eventually sailed back to Britain, while Cook continued to explore the Antarctic, reaching 71°10'S on 31 January 1774. Cook almost encountered the mainland of Antarctica but turned towards Tahiti to resupply his ship. He then resumed his southward course in
9672-575: The first voyage, Cook was promoted in August 1771 to the rank of commander . In 1772, he was commissioned to lead another scientific expedition on behalf of the Royal Society, to search for the hypothetical Terra Australis. On his first voyage, Cook had demonstrated by circumnavigating New Zealand that it was not attached to a larger landmass to the south. Although he charted almost the entire eastern coastline of Australia, showing it to be continental in size,
9796-405: The forest becomes almost uninhabitable, and a dry season from May to October. The temperature is warm to hot, with a cooler climate in higher areas. The mean annual temperatures range from 18 °C (64 °F) at higher elevations to 27 °C (81 °F) on the lowlands in the drier southwest. Temperatures over 40 °C (104 °F) and below 5 °C (41 °F) are rare. Annual rainfall
9920-694: The frigate HMS Solebay as master under Captain Robert Craig. During the Seven Years' War , Cook served in North America as master aboard the fourth-rate Navy vessel HMS Pembroke . With others in Pembroke ' s crew, he took part in the major amphibious assault that captured the Fortress of Louisbourg from the French in 1758, and in the siege of Quebec City in 1759. Throughout his service he demonstrated
10044-555: The help of astronomer Charles Green , and by using the newly published Nautical Almanac tables, via the lunar distance method – measuring the angular distance from the Moon to either the Sun during daytime or one of eight bright stars during night-time to determine the time at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich , and comparing that to his local time determined via the altitude of the Sun, Moon, or stars. On his second voyage, Cook used
10168-532: The islands, its low mintage (10,008) has made this example of an early United States commemorative coin both scarce and expensive. The site where he was killed in Hawaii was marked in 1874 by a white obelisk. This land, although in Hawaii, was deeded to the United Kingdom by Princess Likelike and her husband, Archibald Scott Cleghorn , to the British Consul to Hawaii, James Hay Wodehouse, in 1877. A nearby town
10292-441: The king's attendants, Nuaa. The Hawaiians carried his body away towards the back of the town, still visible to the ship through their spyglass. Four marines, Corporal James Thomas, Private Theophilus Hinks, Private Thomas Fatchett and Private John Allen, were also killed and two others wounded in the confrontation. The esteem which the islanders nevertheless held for Cook caused them to retain his body. Following their practice of
10416-537: The landscape within the local government boundaries of the Cook Shire . Kugu Muminh (also known as Kuku-Muminh) is one of the traditional languages which includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the Cook Shire . Kunjen (also known as Koko Wanggara, Ngundjan and Olkola) is a language of Western Cape York. The Kunjen language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of Kowanyama Community Council and Cook Shire Council . The Cape York Land Council, established in 1990 as
10540-795: The largest, richest and most diverse in Australia". 19 wetlands of national significance have been identified, mostly on the large floodplains and in coastal areas. Important wetlands include the Apudthama Complex , Rinyirru systems and the estuaries of the great rivers of the western plains. Many of these wetlands come into existence only during the wet season and support rare or uncommon plant communities. The peninsula's coastal areas and river estuaries are lined with mangrove forests of kwila and other trees. Australia's largest mangrove forest can be found at Newcastle Bay. The peninsula harbours an extraordinary biodiversity , with more than 700 vertebrate land animal species of which 40 are endemic. As
10664-506: The local government boundaries of the Cook Shire : Eastern Cape York, Ducie River , Northern Peninsula , New Mapoon , Injinoo , and Cowal Creek . Teppathiggi (also known Tepithiki and Teyepathiggi) is an Australian Aboriginal language of Western Cape York, Middle Dulcie River, Lower Batavia River, Ducie River , and Mapoon . The language region includes areas within the local government boundaries of Cook Shire Council . Thaynakwith (also known as Awngthim, Tainikuit and Winduwinda)
10788-402: The long dry season, climatic conditions that are mostly found on the eastern slopes of the peninsula's coastal ranges. Being almost exclusively untouched, old-growth forests and supporting a disproportionately high biodiversity including flora of Gondwanan and New Guinean origin, the rainforests are of high conservation significance. The largest contiguous rainforest area on the peninsula occurs in
10912-493: The mainland are at Bamaga and Seisia . A completely sealed inland road links Cairns and the Atherton Tableland to Lakeland and Cooktown. The road north of Lakeland Downs to the tip of the peninsula is sometimes cut after heavy rains during the wet season (roughly December to May). The peninsula is a popular tourist destination in the dry season for camping, hiking, bird watching and fishing enthusiasts. Many people make
11036-520: The mainland via an isthmus , for example, in the Isthmus of Corinth which connects to the Peloponnese peninsula. Peninsulas can be formed from continental drift , glacial erosion , glacial meltwater , glacial deposition , marine sediment , marine transgressions , volcanoes, divergent boundaries or river sedimentation. More than one factor may play into the formation of a peninsula. For example, in
11160-477: The mid-20th century. Upon his return, Cook was promoted to the rank of post-captain and given an honorary retirement from the Royal Navy, with a posting as an officer of the Greenwich Hospital . He reluctantly accepted, insisting that he be allowed to quit the post if an opportunity for active duty should arise. His fame extended beyond the Admiralty; he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society and awarded
11284-495: The northernmost tip of the coast and, without leaving the ship, Cook named it York Cape (now Cape York ). Leaving the east coast, Cook turned west and nursed his battered ship through the dangerously shallow waters of Torres Strait . Searching for a vantage point, Cook saw a steep hill on a nearby island from the top of which he hoped to see "a passage into the Indian Seas". Cook named the island Possession Island , where he claimed
11408-560: The northwest stretch in 1763 and 1764, the south coast between the Burin Peninsula and Cape Ray in 1765 and 1766, and the west coast in 1767. At this time, Cook employed local pilots to point out the "rocks and hidden dangers" along the south and west coasts. During the 1765 season, four pilots were engaged at a daily pay of 4 shillings each: John Beck for the coast west of " Great St Lawrence ", Morgan Snook for Fortune Bay , John Dawson for Connaigre and Hermitage Bay , and John Peck for
11532-421: The peninsula developmental road, there are small service centres at Lakeland , Laura and Coen . About 30 km (19 mi) offshore north of the tip of Cape York, there is a sizeable service centre on nearby Thursday Island . Aboriginal communities are at Hopevale , Pormpuraaw, Kowanyama, Aurukun, Lockhart River , Napranum, Mapoon, Injinoo , New Mapoon and Umagico . Torres Strait Islander communities on
11656-412: The peninsula remains pristine, with a diverse repertoire of endemic flora and fauna , some of its wildlife may be threatened by industry and overgrazing as well as introduced species and weeds. The northernmost point of the peninsula is Cape York . The land has been occupied by a number of Aboriginal Australian peoples for tens of thousands of years. In 1606, Dutch sailor Willem Janszoon on board
11780-554: The peninsula. The peninsula is also home to the eastern brown snake , one of the world's most venomous snakes. Mammals include the rodent Cape York melomys , related to the extinct Bramble Cay melomys , which was found only on Bramble Cay in the Torres Strait and confirmed extinct in 2016. Peninsula The word peninsula derives from Latin paeninsula , from paene 'almost' and insula 'island'. The word entered English in
11904-485: The peninsula: the large expanses of undisturbed dunefields at the eastern coast around Shelburne Bay and Cape Bedford-Cape Flattery, the huge piles of black granite boulders at Kalkajaka National Park and Cape Melville , and the limestone karsts around Palmerston in the peninsula's far south. The soils are remarkably infertile even compared to other areas of Australia, being almost entirely laterised and in most cases so old and weathered that very little development
12028-436: The popular myth of Terra Australis. Cook's second voyage marked a successful employment of Larcum Kendall's K1 copy of John Harrison 's H4 marine chronometer , which enabled Cook to calculate his longitudinal position with much greater accuracy. Cook's log was full of praise for this time-piece which he used to make charts of the southern Pacific Ocean that were so remarkably accurate that copies of them were still in use in
12152-558: The present town of Cardwell in May 1848, and it turned out to be one of the great disasters of Australian exploration. Of the thirteen men who set out, only three survived. The others died of fever or starvation, or were speared by hostile Aboriginal people. Kennedy died of spear wounds almost within sight of his destination in December 1848. The only survivor to complete the journey was Jackey Jackey , an Aboriginal man from New South Wales . He led
12276-457: The result of the observations was not as conclusive or accurate as had been hoped. Once the observations were completed, Cook opened the sealed orders, which were additional instructions from the Admiralty for the second part of his voyage: to search the south Pacific for signs of the postulated rich southern continent of Terra Australis . Cook then sailed to New Zealand where he mapped the complete coastline, making only some minor errors. With
12400-519: The season of worship. Similarly, Cook's clockwise route around the island of Hawaii before making landfall resembled the processions that took place in a clockwise direction around the island during the Lono festivals. It has been argued (most extensively by Marshall Sahlins ) that such coincidences were the reasons for Cook's (and to a limited extent, his crew's) initial deification by some Hawaiians who treated Cook as an incarnation of Lono. Though this view
12524-468: The sediment is deposited, forming a delta peninsula. Marine transgressions (changes in sea level) may form peninsulas, but also may affect existing peninsulas. For example, the water level may change, which causes a peninsula to become an island during high water levels. Similarly, wet weather causing higher water levels make peninsulas appear smaller, while dry weather make them appear larger. Sea level rise from global warming will permanently reduce
12648-518: The ships returned to Kealakekua Bay for repairs. Tensions rose, and quarrels broke out between the Europeans and Hawaiians at Kealakekua Bay, including the theft of wood from a Hawaiian burial ground under Cook's orders. On 13 February 1779, an unknown group of Hawaiians stole one of Cook's longboats. By then the Hawaiian people had become "insolent", even with threats to fire upon them. Cook responded to
12772-494: The shop window. After 18 months, not proving suited for shop work, Cook travelled to the nearby port town of Whitby to be introduced to Sanderson's friends John and Henry Walker. The Walkers, who were Quakers , were prominent local ship-owners in the coal trade. Their house is now the Captain Cook Memorial Museum . Cook was taken on as a merchant navy apprentice in their small fleet of vessels, plying coal along
12896-471: The sinking of another, following which he was promoted to boatswain in addition to his other duties. His first temporary command was in March 1756 when he was briefly master of Cruizer , a small cutter attached to Eagle while on patrol. In June 1757, Cook formally passed his master 's examinations at Trinity House , Deptford , qualifying him to navigate and handle a ship of the King's fleet. He then joined
13020-456: The size of some peninsulas over time. Peninsulas are noted for their use as shelter for humans and Neanderthals . The landform is advantageous because it gives hunting access to both land and sea animals. They can also serve as markers of a nation's borders. James Cook Captain James Cook FRS (7 November [ O.S. 27 October] 1728 – 14 February 1779) was
13144-447: The south end of Bligh Island . Relations between Cook's crew and the people of Yuquot were cordial but sometimes strained. In trading, the people of Yuquot demanded much more valuable items than the usual trinkets that had been acceptable in Hawaii. Metal objects were much desired, but the lead, pewter, and tin traded at first soon fell into disrepute. The most valuable items which the British received in trade were sea otter pelts. During
13268-450: The south to over 500 mm (20 in) in the north and on the Iron Range. The Peninsula Ridge forms the drainage divide between the Gulf of Carpentaria and the Coral Sea. To the west, a series of large, winding river systems including the Mitchell , Staaten , Coleman, Holroyd, Archer, Watson, Wenlock, Ducie and Jardine catchments empty their waters into the Gulf of Carpentaria. During
13392-652: The stay, the Yuquot "hosts" essentially controlled the trade with the British vessels; the natives usually visited the British vessels at Resolution Cove instead of the British visiting the village of Yuquot at Friendly Cove. After leaving Nootka Sound in search of the Northwest Passage, Cook explored and mapped the coast all the way to the Bering Strait , on the way identifying what came to be known as Cook Inlet in Alaska. In
13516-513: The theft by attempting to kidnap and ransom the King of Hawaiʻi , Kalaniʻōpuʻu . The following day, 14 February 1779, Cook marched through the village to retrieve the king. Cook took the king (aliʻi nui) by his own hand and led him away. One of Kalaniʻōpuʻu's favourite wives, Kanekapolei , and two chiefs approached the group as they were heading to the boats. They pleaded with the king not to go. An old kahuna (priest), chanting rapidly while holding out
13640-420: The time of his Endeavour voyage. For leisure, he would climb a nearby hill, Roseberry Topping , enjoying the opportunity for solitude. In 1745, when he was 16, Cook moved 20 miles (32 km) to the fishing village of Staithes , to be apprenticed as a shop boy to grocer and haberdasher William Sanderson. Historians have speculated that this is where Cook first felt the lure of the sea while gazing out of
13764-497: The time, they prepared his body with funerary rituals usually reserved for the chiefs and highest elders of the society. The body was disembowelled and baked to facilitate removal of the flesh , and the bones were carefully cleaned for preservation as religious icons in a fashion somewhat reminiscent of the treatment of European saints in the Middle Ages . Some of Cook's remains, thus preserved, were eventually returned to his crew for
13888-655: The time. He tested several preventive measures, most importantly the frequent replenishment of fresh food. For presenting a paper on this aspect of the voyage to the Royal Society he was presented with the Copley Medal in 1776. Cook became the first European to have extensive contact with various people of the Pacific. He correctly postulated a link among all the Pacific peoples, despite their being separated by great ocean stretches (see Malayo-Polynesian languages ) . Cook theorised that Polynesians originated from Asia, which scientist Bryan Sykes later verified. In New Zealand
14012-552: The volcano erupts near shallow water. Marine sediment may form peninsulas by the creation of limestone . A rift peninsula may form as a result of a divergent boundary in plate tectonics (e.g. the Arabian Peninsula ), while a convergent boundary may also form peninsulas (e.g. Gibraltar or the Indian subcontinent ). Peninsulas can also form due to sedimentation in rivers. When a river carrying sediment flows into an ocean,
14136-518: The voyage. The Australian Museum acquired its "Cook Collection" in 1894 from the Government of New South Wales . At that time the collection consisted of 115 artefacts collected on Cook's three voyages throughout the Pacific Ocean, during the period 1768–1780, along with documents and memorabilia related to these voyages. Many of the ethnographic artefacts were collected at a time of first contact between Pacific Peoples and Europeans. In 1935 most of
14260-518: The west coast of the peninsula in 1606, but it was not settled by Europeans until the 19th century when fishing communities, then stations and later mining towns were established. European settlement led to the displacement of Aboriginal communities and the arrival of Torres Strait Islanders on the mainland. The west coast borders the Gulf of Carpentaria and the east coast borders the Coral Sea . The peninsula
14384-419: The world. Cape York Peninsula also contains one of the highest rates of endemism in Australia, with more than 260 endemic plant species found so far. Therefore, parts of the peninsula have been noted for their exceptionally high wilderness quality. The flora of the peninsula includes original Gondwanan species, plants that have emerged since the breakup of Gondwana and species from Indomalaya and from across
14508-528: Was badly damaged, and his voyage was delayed almost seven weeks while repairs were carried out on the beach (near the docks of modern Cooktown, Queensland , at the mouth of the Endeavour River ). The crew's encounters with the local Aboriginal people were mostly peaceful, although following a dispute over green turtles Cook ordered shots to be fired and one local was lightly wounded. The voyage then continued and at about midday on 22 August 1770, they reached
14632-412: Was communicated to the Royal Society in 1767. His five seasons in Newfoundland produced the first large-scale and accurate maps of the island's coasts and were the first scientific, large-scale, hydrographic surveys to use precise triangulation to establish land outlines. They also gave Cook his mastery of practical surveying, achieved under often adverse conditions, and brought him to the attention of
14756-496: Was created from a large deposit of glacial drift . The hill of drift becomes a peninsula if the hill formed near water but was still connected to the mainland, for example during the formation of Cape Cod about 23,000 years ago. In the case of formation from volcanoes, when a volcano erupts magma near water, it may form a peninsula (e.g., the Alaskan Peninsula ). Peninsulas formed from volcanoes are especially common when
14880-418: Was first suggested by members of Cook's expedition, the idea that any Hawaiians understood Cook to be Lono, and the evidence presented in support of it, was challenged in 1992 by Gananath Obeyesekere in the so-called Sahlins–Obeyesekere debate . After a month's stay, Cook attempted to resume his exploration of the northern Pacific. Shortly after leaving Hawaii Island, Resolution ' s foremast broke, so
15004-554: Was given command of HMS Bounty in 1787 to sail to Tahiti and return with breadfruit . Bligh became known for the mutiny of his crew , which resulted in his being set adrift in 1789. He later became Governor of New South Wales , where he was the subject of another mutiny—the 1808 Rum Rebellion . George Vancouver , one of Cook's midshipmen , led a voyage of exploration to the Pacific Coast of North America from 1791 to 1794. In honour of Vancouver's former commander, his ship
15128-601: Was named Discovery . George Dixon , who sailed under Cook on his third expedition, later commanded his own. Cook's contributions to knowledge gained international recognition during his lifetime. In 1779, while the American colonies were fighting Britain for their independence , Benjamin Franklin wrote to captains of colonial warships at sea, recommending that if they came into contact with Cook's vessel, they were to "not consider her an enemy, nor suffer any plunder to be made of
15252-519: Was the first European explorer to attempt an overland expedition of Cape York Peninsula. He had been second-in-command to Thomas Livingstone Mitchell in 1846 when the Barcoo River was encountered. The aim was to establish a route to the tip of the peninsula, where Sydney businessmen were attempting development of a port for trade with the East Indies . The expedition set out from Rockingham Bay near
15376-565: Was transferred to the Australian Museum. Cook's 12 years sailing around the Pacific Ocean contributed much to Europeans' knowledge of the area. Several islands, such as the Hawaiian group, were encountered for the first time by Europeans, and his more accurate navigational charting of large areas of the Pacific was a major achievement. To create accurate maps, latitude and longitude must be accurately determined. Navigators had been able to work out latitude accurately for centuries by measuring
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