Cooktown Re-enactment Association

Cooktown Re-enactment Association Sharing the previously unknown history of Captain Cook and the Guugu Yimithirr at Waalmbal Birri/Endeavour River in 1770.

The objects of the association are:

1. To stage an historical and culturally accurate annual re-enactment of the arrival and subsequent 48 days when the HMB Endeavour careened at Waymburr (Cooktown) in 1770.
2. To educate the public about the shared history of the sailors aboard HMB Endeavour and the Guugu Yimithirr and Kuku Yalanji Bama during the time the Endeavour was careened at Waymburr on W

aalmbal Birri (Endeavour River), and the many significant events that took place.
3. Conduct promotional, educational and fundraising events and activities with the aim of encouraging cultural appreciation, historical awareness, community pride and regional economic development.

Cooktown Re-enactment Association web site is now selling over 100 Banks Florilegium prints, over 40 from the Endeavour ...
03/06/2026

Cooktown Re-enactment Association web site is now selling over 100 Banks Florilegium prints, over 40 from the Endeavour River.
Prices are the same as in 1988.
You can support us by purchasing from our shop. More items to be added soon๐Ÿค”

Two Cultures โ€“ One People โ€˜Community Working Togetherโ€™ Turtle Illustration ยฉ Braham Stevens About us Cooktown Re-enactment Association is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to educate and commemorate the history of the significant events which occurred on the banks of the Endeavour River...

๐Ÿข ๐…๐ข๐ง๐š๐ฅ ๐‚๐š๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐‚๐š๐ฌ๐ญ ๐Œ๐ž๐ฆ๐›๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ! โš“๐„๐ƒ๐ˆ๐“:  ๐Ÿšจ ๐’๐ญ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐–๐š๐ง๐ญ๐ž๐ โ€“ ๐‹๐ข๐ž๐ฎ๐ญ๐ž๐ง๐š๐ง๐ญ ๐‰๐จ๐ก๐ง ๐†๐จ๐ซ๐ž ๐ŸšจThanks to the fantastic response from the ...
31/05/2026

๐Ÿข ๐…๐ข๐ง๐š๐ฅ ๐‚๐š๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐‚๐š๐ฌ๐ญ ๐Œ๐ž๐ฆ๐›๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ! โš“

๐„๐ƒ๐ˆ๐“: ๐Ÿšจ ๐’๐ญ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐–๐š๐ง๐ญ๐ž๐ โ€“ ๐‹๐ข๐ž๐ฎ๐ญ๐ž๐ง๐š๐ง๐ญ ๐‰๐จ๐ก๐ง ๐†๐จ๐ซ๐ž ๐Ÿšจ

Thanks to the fantastic response from the community, we have now filled many of our British camp, turtle and crew roles.

However, we are still looking for someone to play one of the key characters in this year's Cooktown Re-enactment โ€“ Lieutenant John Gore.

๐Ÿฆ˜Gore was Cook's third-in-command and the ship's "master hunter". During the Endeavour's stay on the Endeavour River, he became the first European recorded as shooting a kangaroo on Australia's east coast and plays an important role in several scenes throughout the re-enactment.

The role includes a small number of speaking lines and involvement in some of the re-enactment's most memorable moments.

No acting experience is necessary โ€“ just a willingness to get involved and have some fun. Costumes are provided and support is available to help you learn the role.

Interested? We'd love to hear from you.

No acting experience is needed. Costumes are provided and you'll be part of a unique community event that has been bringing our shared history to life for 67 years.

Send us a message for more information.

โ›ตJoin the crew and be part of Cooktown's shared history.

Beautiful Endeavour River tonight
30/05/2026

Beautiful Endeavour River tonight

28/05/2026

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us for our recent Cooktown Re-enactment Acting Workshop.

Funded by RADF, it was a fantastic day of storytelling, movement, discussion and laughter, with new and returning cast and crew coming together to explore this yearโ€™s reenactment and continue building confidence for the performances ahead.

Weโ€™d like to sincerely thank our supporters:

RADF, through Cook Shire Council and the Queensland Government.
Paperbark Retreat for generously providing the venue.
Bektopia for keeping everyone well fed throughout the day.

A special thank you to Box Jelly Theatre Co. for facilitating such an engaging and supportive workshop. Weโ€™re looking forward to continuing that work during our second workshop session at rehearsals on 6th June.

2026 Cooktown Re-enactment 21st June.

COMMUNITY NOTICE โ€“ LIVE FIRINGS DURING RE-ENACTMENT EVENTSAs part of this yearโ€™s Cooktown Re-enactment and Discovery Fes...
28/05/2026

COMMUNITY NOTICE โ€“ LIVE FIRINGS DURING RE-ENACTMENT EVENTS

As part of this yearโ€™s Cooktown Re-enactment and Discovery Festival events, there will be a number of controlled live musket firings taking place during rehearsals and performances over the coming weeks.

Please see the attached notice for dates, locations and approximate times.

We are letting the community know in advance as the noise may startle pets and animals. Please ensure animals are secure during these times.

The firings are a scheduled part of the re-enactment activities and are conducted under controlled conditions.

We appreciate the communityโ€™s understanding and support.

27/05/2026

This National Reconciliation Week we're sharing Nugal Warra elder Wanda Gibson's artwork, 'No Blood Will Be Shed'.

'This is an important story as it is the first time reconciliation between Indigenous Australians and Europeans happened' - Wanda

The artwork is from a series by the Gamba Gamba (old ladies) group from the Hopevale Arts and Culture Centre. They depict encounters between their ancestors and the crew of HMS Endeavour.

In 1770 at Waalumbaal Birri (Endeavour River), Guugu Yimidhirr people confronted James Cookโ€™s crew after they broke protocols around catching turtles.

Shots were fired and a Guugu Yimidhirr person was injured. Yet, before the conflict could escalate, an elder intervened by breaking the tip of a spear.

Wanda states, โ€œHe was saying in his own language, โ€˜No blood will be shed here.โ€™โ€

An interesting article
24/05/2026

An interesting article

Britain had an urgent problem after it lost its American colonies: where to send its convicts. It settled on NSW after rejecting other options, but the new spot didn't exactly live up to its billing.

๐€๐ง๐ข๐ฆ๐š๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐š๐ง๐ญ๐ž๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐š๐ค๐ž ๐ฉ๐š๐ซ๐ญ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ซ๐ž-๐ž๐ง๐š๐œ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐ญ...Does your dog think itโ€™s Snoop? Got a goat that canโ€™t help but butt in...
17/05/2026

๐€๐ง๐ข๐ฆ๐š๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐š๐ง๐ญ๐ž๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐š๐ค๐ž ๐ฉ๐š๐ซ๐ญ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ซ๐ž-๐ž๐ง๐š๐œ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐ญ...

Does your dog think itโ€™s Snoop? Got a goat that canโ€™t help but butt into every scene? A sheep dreaming of the baa-big time? Got a chicken wanting to finally cross the road into show business? Ducks prepared to wing it on the day? We may have a role for them.

Weโ€™re looking for a few animals to help bring the British camp to life in this yearโ€™s Cooktown Re-enactment.

Goats, sheep, chickens and ducks all help add atmosphere and detail to the camp scenes across the performance.

Weโ€™d especially love to find a ๐ ๐ซ๐ž๐ฒ๐ก๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ to accompany Mr Banks.

No acting experience or costume required!

Animals do need to be calm around crowds, noise and activity. There will be live firing during parts of the reenactment, but animals will not be close to the muskets. Birds would be penned.

If you have an animal that loves the limelight and would like to be involved, please get in touch.

Address

121 Charlotte Street
Cooktown, QLD
4895

Opening Hours

Monday 12pm - 4pm
Tuesday 12pm - 4pm
Wednesday 12pm - 4pm
Thursday 12pm - 4pm
Friday 12pm - 4pm

Telephone

+61427194820

Website

http://Cook.qld.gov.au/, http://www.captaincooksociety.com/

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