Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Anyone who loves travel and thrills to nature in her more
grandly beautiful moods, should sail, at least once, the long lagoon
between the rugged coast of Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef.
Even now, when the tourist industry has filled every port with en-
trepreneurs offering fishing trips and scuba diving expeditions, this
stretch of water provides unparalleled vistas both above and below
the waves. For Slocum, sailing single-handed and non-stop from
Great Sandy Cape to Cooktown it was a voyage of wary delight. He
exulted in 'the waters of many colours studded all about with en-
chanted islands' but always kept a sharp lookout for outcrops of
jagged coral and trusted to 'the mercies of the Maker of all reefs'.
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He stopped at Port Denison (modern Bowen) then made for Cook-
town, the settlement recently sprung up on the Endeavour River to
serve the nearby goldmines. For Slocum this was a pilgrimage, for
Cooktown was built around the harbour where Captain Cook had
brought his ship for repair in 1770 after brilliantly negotiating the
hazards of the Barrier Reef. From there the
Endeavour
had made her
way through uncharted Torres Strait between Queensland and New
Guinea and thither the
Spray
followed. But not before her captain
had witnessed a tragedy: 'I saw coming into port the physical wrecks
of miners from New Guinea, destitute and dying. Many had died on
ienced its own 'gold rush'. Hopeful prospectors from Australia and
farther afield had flocked to the Mai-Kusa river in pursuit of exag-
gerated rumours of mineral wealth. The failure of the pioneers had
not dampened the optimism of others, and successive contingents of
adventurers crossed to the island (divided up and annexed by Hol-
land, Germany and Britain in 1884-5). The results were almost al-
ways dismal scenes such as Slocum witnessed. He was sufficiently
moved to deliver a lecture to the local people at which a subscription
was taken up for the miners.
