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The cottage that travelled from England to Australia

Where’s that house which was brought on a ship here all the way from Europe? This is one such question that gets fervently asked by several tourists at any of the visitor centres in Melbourne. Even on the streets, many are seen seeking directions towards it because they all know it’s worth visiting for not one but many reasons.

The cottage that travelled from England to Australia

Photo by the writer



Rameshinder Singh Sandhu

Where’s that house which was brought on a ship here all the way from Europe? This is one such question that gets fervently asked by several tourists at any of the visitor centres in Melbourne. Even on the streets, many are seen seeking directions towards it because they all know it’s worth visiting for not one but many reasons.

Located in the historic Fitzroy Gardens and known as the ‘Cook’s Cottage’, it’s was built in 1755 by British navigator and explorer Captain James Cook’s father in Great Ayton Yorkshire, England.

However, when it was up for sale in June 1933, it was bought by a Melbourne-based businessman and philanthropist, Russell Grimwade, for £800 who wanted to gift it to the city of Melbourne to historically mark its centenary of European settlement in 1934. All because of Cook’s Australia connection, who is known to have discovered the country in 1770 during his first voyage from Europe...

When it was time to bring the cottage to Australia, it was meticulously brought down — brick by brick. Every brick was given a number and then packed into hundreds of cases and barrels that were brought on a ship (Port Dunedin). The transportation cost nearly £2,000 more. Finally, when the ship reached Melbourne after a long journey, many locations were debated for it, including outside the State Library of Victoria. Eventually, Fitzroy Gardens was finalised considering their Victorian setting. Roping in the best hands in construction, it took several months to reconstruct. On October 15 in 1934, it was finally opened to the public.

Sitting as a double storey and rolling out the quintessential old world charm, the entry ticket costs just AUD 6.70, which also includes wearing English costumes from the 18th century available right at the entrance. These help make the visit more authentic and memorable.

On the ground floor is the kitchen, which was also used as a living room. The floor above is the main bedroom, equipped with furnishings of those days. Looking out of the windows from both floors takes one to its kitchen garden, which also existed along the cottage in England. It boasts of myriad herbs, flowers, and vegetables on which Cook’s family was dependent not only for his daily meals but also using many of its plants as medicine. Interestingly, there are also some plants that were uprooted from the England garden and re-planted here, including the ivy, which grows on the outdoor walls of the cottage.

Meanwhile, on the back is another room which was then a stable for horses but is now being used as a discovery centre, which screens documentaries on this house and Cook’s life.

And if you happen to be at the National Library of Australia in the national capital of Canberra, you can also see Cook’s handwritten diary, which he penned on his first historic voyage to Australia. Exploring a model of HMS Endeavour ship, which was used by Cook during the same voyage, is another cynosure which was gifted to Australia by the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Maiden landing

The site where Cook first arrived in April 1770 is Botany Bay, today home to Sydney’s main cargo port and runways of the airport. 

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