Endeavour River National Park

Endeavour River National Park is a national park in Queensland, Australia, gazetted to protect and preserve some of the natural and cultural resources in and around the mouth of the Endeavour River, immediately north of the small town of Cooktown. The park is located 1,561 kilometres (970 mi) northwest of Brisbane.

Endeavour River National Park Queensland
IUCN category II (national park)
The HM Bark Endeavour replica in the Endeavour River. Endeavour River National Park is in the background.
Endeavour River National Park
Nearest town or city	Cooktown
Coordinates	15°26′31″S 145°13′03″E
Established	First in 1975, expanded and newly gazetted on 24 November 2006 (2006-11-24)[1]
Area	21.7 km2 (8.4 sq mi)
Managing authorities	Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service
Website	Endeavour River National Park
See also	Protected areas of Queensland

Naturalists Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander collected specimens of local 'Australian' flora in 1770 from this area which were taken back to the Royal Botanic Gardens in England.[2] Sydney Parkinson first illustrated local Australian Aboriginal people encountered nearby, plus flora collected and fauna seen; and kangaroos were first given their modern English name (borrowing from the local Guugu Yimithirr language).

HM Bark Endeavour, under the command of Lieutenant James Cook, had struck reefs and been pulled ashore for repairs along the river locally known within Guugu Yimithirr as Wabalumbaal, possibly near the present site of Cooktown. The river was renamed on James Cook's charts as the Endeavour River, after Endeavour, and the current National Park appears, in turn, to be named after the river.[1]

The present National Park contains coastal dunes, freshwater wetlands, mangrove forests, heathlands, tropical woodlands and the estuary plus parts of the Endeavour River catchment. It is mostly accessible by boat only, and still contains flora and fauna species of the kind collected and illustrated back in 1770.[2]