Cooktown Re-enactment Association

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 soon🤔

Two Cultures – One People ‘Community Working Together’ Turtle Illustration © 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...

31/05/2026

🐢 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬! ⚓

𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐓: 🚨 𝐒𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 – 𝐋𝐢𝐞𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧 𝐆𝐨𝐫𝐞 🚨

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 – Lieutenant John Gore.

🦘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 – 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.

⛵Join the crew and be part of Cooktown's shared history.

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 year’s reenactment and continue building confidence for the performances ahead.

We’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. We’re looking forward to continuing that work during our second workshop session at rehearsals on 6th June.

2026 Cooktown Re-enactment 21st June.

28/05/2026

COMMUNITY NOTICE – LIVE FIRINGS DURING RE-ENACTMENT EVENTS

As part of this year’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 community’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 Cook’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, “He was saying in his own language, ‘No blood will be shed here.’”

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.

17/05/2026

𝐀𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞-𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭...

Does your dog think it’s Snoop? Got a goat that can’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.

We’re looking for a few animals to help bring the British camp to life in this year’s Cooktown Re-enactment.

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

We’d especially love to find a 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐲𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 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.