POSSESSION ISLAND, TORRES STRAIT, QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA Captain Cook Monument
Description: A 10 acre plot is preserved as an historical area on the Island. An obelisk of concrete, with a bronze tablet affixed, to assert that James Cook took possession of the whole of the east coast of Australia. History: One memorial was erected by the Commonwealth Government in 1925. It is recorded that a number of monuments have been erected on this site, but were vandalised over the years. The latest was erected as a bicentennial project, and is almost indestructible. Inscription: Front:
LIEUTENANT JAMES COOK R.N. ON THE “ENDEAVOUR” LANDED ON THIS ISLAND WHICH HE NAMED POSSESSION ISLAND AND IN THE NAME OF HIS MAJESTY KING GEORGE III TOOK POSSESSION OF THE WHOLE EASTERN COAST OF AUSTRALIA FROM THE LATITUDE 38° SOUTH TO THIS PLACE AUGUST 22nd 1770
GPS Coordinates: -10.715029 142,39298 References: Cook’s Log, page 1354, vol.20, no. 1, (1997) Website: https://monumentaustralia.org.au Website: www.australiaforeveryone.com.au Yorkshire Post & Leeds Intelligencer, 21.7.1928. P.16.
Am interested in the story of Possession Island - first I became aware of it was in the article by Des Houghton in the Brisbane Courier Mail this morning - 30/05/2020
Richard, whilst the words on the memorial at Possession Island refers to the east coast of Australia, in Cook's own journal he used the name New South Wales, in the possession ceremony. The ceremony specificed the range of coast which the ceremony related to, as is given on the memorial inscription. For information, all of Cook's charts covering the east coast of Australia were titled with both the locations "New South Wales" and "East Coast of New Holland".
My interest is in knowing if ( Possession ) Island was ever recognised as being a name for " Australia "
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