Point Hicks
Encyclopedia
Point Hicks, formerly called Cape Everard, is a coastal headland on the eastern coast of Victoria
, Australia
, located within the Croajingolong National Park
.
's Endeavour
voyage. Cook records that it was Lieutenant Zachary Hickes
who first saw land, and Cook named the point after him. Hickes spelt his name with an "e", Cook wrote both Hicks and Hickes in different places; the spelling Hicks is now in use for the point.
When George Bass
sailed past the area at the end of 1797 he was unable to identify the point, and it therefore didn't appear on the charts Matthew Flinders
produced of their voyages, and the name fell into disuse.
The point instead came to be known as Cape Everard. The first use of that name is attributed to hydrographer John Lort Stokes
who surveyed the coast in the Beagle in 1843. It's presumed he named it after fellow naval officer John Everard Home. Stokes' maps don't record the name, but many secondary sources attribute its introduction to him.
The first known chart showing Everard was by surveyor George Douglas Smythe, made in 1852 and published in 1853. If he coined the name, then one theory is that he may have been referring to William Everard, commissioner of crown lands (though no record of that Everard has been found).
In any case the name Cape Everard was used from that time up until 1970 and there has been doubt and long-running scholarly debate about exactly what Cook saw. The actual latitude and longitude he gave (38°0′S 148°53′E) is a location many miles out to sea.
The name Point Hicks was re-established as part of Cook's bicentenary. Victorian Premier Henry Bolte
proclaimed the new name in a ceremony at the point on 20 April 1970 (this was the 200th anniversary; Cook's 19 April was by nautical time, i.e. not adjusted for the International Date Line
).
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, located within the Croajingolong National Park
Croajingolong National Park
Croajingolong is a coastal national park in Victoria, Australia, 427 kilometres east of Melbourne.The name is thought to derive from the aboriginal word Krowathunkooloong, the name of the tribe inhabiting that area of Victoria.-Description:...
.
Name
Point Hicks is where, on 19 April 1770, the continent of Australia was first sighted by the men on Captain CookJames Cook
Captain James Cook, FRS, RN was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer who ultimately rose to the rank of captain in the Royal Navy...
's Endeavour
HM Bark Endeavour
HMS Endeavour, also known as HM Bark Endeavour, was a British Royal Navy research vessel commanded by Lieutenant James Cook on his first voyage of discovery, to Australia and New Zealand from 1769 to 1771....
voyage. Cook records that it was Lieutenant Zachary Hickes
Zachary Hickes
Zachary Hickes was a Royal Navy officer, second-in-command on Lieutenant James Cook's voyage to the east coast of Australia. Hickes spelt his name with an "e", but it has often been written by others as Hicks without the "e".Hickes was 29 and held the rank of lieutenant when appointed to Cook's...
who first saw land, and Cook named the point after him. Hickes spelt his name with an "e", Cook wrote both Hicks and Hickes in different places; the spelling Hicks is now in use for the point.
When George Bass
George Bass
George Bass was a British naval surgeon and explorer of Australia.-Early years:He was born on 30 January 1771 at Aswarby, a hamlet near Sleaford, Lincolnshire, the son of a tenant farmer, George Bass, and a local beauty named Sarah Nee Newman. His father died in 1777 when Bass was 6...
sailed past the area at the end of 1797 he was unable to identify the point, and it therefore didn't appear on the charts Matthew Flinders
Matthew Flinders
Captain Matthew Flinders RN was one of the most successful navigators and cartographers of his age. In a career that spanned just over twenty years, he sailed with Captain William Bligh, circumnavigated Australia and encouraged the use of that name for the continent, which had previously been...
produced of their voyages, and the name fell into disuse.
The point instead came to be known as Cape Everard. The first use of that name is attributed to hydrographer John Lort Stokes
John Lort Stokes
Admiral John Lort Stokes, RN was an officer in the Royal Navy who travelled on HMS Beagle for close to eighteen years.Stokes grew up in Scotchwell near Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire. He joined the Navy on 20 September 1824...
who surveyed the coast in the Beagle in 1843. It's presumed he named it after fellow naval officer John Everard Home. Stokes' maps don't record the name, but many secondary sources attribute its introduction to him.
The first known chart showing Everard was by surveyor George Douglas Smythe, made in 1852 and published in 1853. If he coined the name, then one theory is that he may have been referring to William Everard, commissioner of crown lands (though no record of that Everard has been found).
In any case the name Cape Everard was used from that time up until 1970 and there has been doubt and long-running scholarly debate about exactly what Cook saw. The actual latitude and longitude he gave (38°0′S 148°53′E) is a location many miles out to sea.
The name Point Hicks was re-established as part of Cook's bicentenary. Victorian Premier Henry Bolte
Henry Bolte
Sir Henry Edward Bolte GCMG was an Australian politician. He was the 38th and longest serving Premier of Victoria.- Early years :...
proclaimed the new name in a ceremony at the point on 20 April 1970 (this was the 200th anniversary; Cook's 19 April was by nautical time, i.e. not adjusted for the International Date Line
International Date Line
The International Date Line is a generally north-south imaginary line on the surface of the Earth, passing through the middle of the Pacific Ocean, that designates the place where each calendar day begins...
).
Lighthouse
A lighthouse was built on the point in 1887/8 and commenced operation in 1890, built from concrete and with timber keepers quarters. It was connected to mains electricity in 1965, and then to solar power recently. The keepers' cottages are today let as holiday houses. At 37 metres, it is the tallest lighthouse on Australia's mainland. Its light characteristic is a double white flash every ten seconds, emitted from a focal plane height of 56 metres above sea level.See also
- Point Hicks Marine Park is the waters off Point Hicks
- SS SarosSS SarosThe Saros was a 2044 ton steamship which was wrecked at Point Hicks, in what is now Croajingolong National Park. Helmed by a Captain Aitken, it left Geelong bound for Sydney on 23 December 1937, but ran aground in heavy fog...
, a wrecked steamship visible on the rocks at Point Hicks.
External links
- Point Hicks lighthouse at Parks VictoriaParks Victoria-Department:Parks Victoria was established in December 1996 as a statutory authority, reporting to the Minister for Environment and Climate Change. The Parks Victoria Act 1998 makes Parks Victoria responsible for managing national parks, reserves and other land under the control of the state,...