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Hope Islands National Park

Coordinates: 15°43′53″S 145°27′26″E / 15.73139°S 145.45722°E / -15.73139; 145.45722
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Hope Islands National Park
Queensland
Hope Islands National Park is located in Queensland
Hope Islands National Park
Hope Islands National Park
Nearest town or cityCooktown
Coordinates15°43′53″S 145°27′26″E / 15.73139°S 145.45722°E / -15.73139; 145.45722
Established1939
Area1.74 km2 (0.7 sq mi)
Managing authoritiesQueensland Parks and Wildlife Service
WebsiteHope Islands National Park
See alsoProtected areas of Queensland

Hope Islands National Park is a national park in Queensland (Australia) 1,521 km north-west of Brisbane. The park consists of four islands: East Hope and West Hope, Snapper Island and Struck Island.

Access is via private vessel or by permitted commercial operators.

The Hope islands were named by Lt James Cook on 13th June 1770, after his ship HMS Endeavour narrowly escaped sinking after running aground on the eastern part of Endeavour Reef at 11pm on 11th June. Cook writes of taking a risk and sailing from the reef on the morning of June 12th in favourable conditions but the three operational bilge pumps could not keep up with the flow of water. Cook wrote "we were always in hopes of being able to reach these Islands". Cook speaks of he and the crew thinking the situation so dire that the best scenario would be to ground the boat on the reef surrounding the islands if the mainland could not be reached. They aimed to build a vessel from the wreck to make it back to the East Indies. Fortunately some crew members were able to "fother" the leak using a sail so that the water could be cleared easily using one bilge pump. Endeavour was able to be sailed safely to what is now Cooktown so that repairs could be undertaken. [1]

See also

References

  1. ^ Beaglehole, J.C., ed. (1968). The Journals of Captain James Cook on His Voyages of Discovery, vol. I:The Voyage of the Endeavour 1768–1771. Cambridge University Press. pp. 343–347. OCLC 223185477. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)