Originally inhabited by the Aboriginal people for over 40,000 years, Cape York is estimated to have had a population of between 250,000 and 1 million people at the time of the first European contact.

The first European explorer to make contact with Cape York was Edmund Kennedy in 1846. … (read more)

Originally inhabited by the Aboriginal people for over 40,000 years, Cape York is estimated to have had a population of between 250,000 and 1 million people at the time of the first European contact.

The first European explorer to make contact with Cape York was Edmund Kennedy in 1846. Attempting an overland expedition to the tip of the cape for the potential establishment of an East Indies trade port, 13 men left Rockingham Bay in 1848 however only three survived in what is described as one of Australian explorations greatest disasters.

By 1865 Cape York had finally been conquered and less than a decade later, more European settlers flocked to the peninsula with the discovery of gold and the advent of mining in 1873. However gold mining collapsed, and the population declined rapidly leaving a diminished pastoral industry.

Name: Cape York Beach

Location: Queensland, Australia

Artist: Charlie Rowell (Bootsy)