Cooks' Cottage

Melbourne


Built in 1755, this humble family cottage lays claim to being the oldest building in Australia, but that's sidestepping the fact that it was shipped from Yorkshire in 253 packing cases and reconstructed here in 1934. The cottage belonged to navigator Captain James Cook's parents later in their lives. The great explorer never lived here himself, but he most likely visited his folks. Buy tickets from the nearby visitor centre to look inside.

The cottage is furnished in 18th-century style and the garden has ivy transplanted from its original site in Great Ayton. Downstairs there's an exhibition about Cook's voyages, including a documentary on a video loop.


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