The Town of 1770

 Back in 1770, Captain Cook only landed at fourteen spots in what was to become Australia. The first was at what became Botany Bay, the third at Cooktown where the Endeavour was repaired after running onto a coral reef and finally at Possession Island at the northern tip of Australia.

The second landing was at Bustard Head which eventually became the Town of Seventeen Seventy.

Most residents in the area live at Agnes Water where you can go shopping. There is limited land available at 1770 because much of it is bush and not available for development.

We pulled over at a parking spot overlooking the water on the western side. The water is tidal and those are mangroves in the foreground.

Fortunately, the water is lined with parks so it's all very pleasant. It's winter now and you have to put up with 70 F, low humidity and plenty of sunshine. It's a tough life but somebody has to do it.

Somebody was feeding the pelicans.

Paddleboarding. There are no waves in this area.

Interesting house.

The local pub.

Dappled Marianne.

The monument to Cook's landing.

If you remember my blog about Kurnell which was the site of Cook's landing at Botany Bay, you can see he looked for a site with the same conditions. First, a bay that is protected from the sea breeze. Second, an area of rocks to securely hold the anchors and ropes.

Low tide.

Bustard Head to the north.

The local First Nation's people had obviously watched the Endeavour's arrival.

https://www.nma.gov.au/exhibitions/endeavour-voyage/gooragan-bustard-bay

Bustard Head.

A short walk to a lookout.

A secluded beach on the ocean side. There are no pounding breakers since the Great Barrier Reef takes the energy out of the swells.

It's a park area, so no development.

I bet that cave has been used for thousands of years.

A pandanus pine run amok.

The path down to the beach.

1770 is everything i's cracked up to be. An absolutely lovely place. Hopefully, it doesn't become ruined by crowds and development.

One thing good about driving home was that we were heading south and the sun was behind us.

We really enjoyed our mini trip, especially as our house exchange in Newcastle next month had to be cancelled because of the pandemic.