Point Hicks

Point Hicks

Point Hicks (coord|37|48|S|149|16|E), formerly called Cape Everard, is a coastal headland on the eastern coast of Victoria, Australia, located within the Croajingolong National Park.

Name

Point Hicks is where, on 19 April 1770, the continent of Australia was first sighted by the men on Captain Cook's "Endeavour" voyage. Cook records that it was Lieutenant Zachary Hickes who first saw land, and Cook named the point after him. [gutenberg|no=8106|name=Captain Cook's Journal During the First Voyage Round the World] 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, [gutenberg|no=12929|name=A Voyage to Terra Australis by Matthew Flinders] 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 (coord|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, ie. not adjusted for the International Date Line).

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. [cite web|url=http://www.lighthouse.net.au/LIGHTS/VIC/Point%20Hicks/Point%20Hicks.htm|title=The Point Hicks Lighthouse|publisher=Lighthouses of Australia] The keepers' cottages are today let as holiday houses. [ [http://www.pointhicks.com.au/cottages.html Point Hicks lighthouse cottages page] ] With 37 metres of height it is the tallest lighthouse on Australia's mainland.cite web|url=http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/lighthouse/vic.htm|author=Rowlett, Russ|title=The Lighthouse Directory|accessdate=July 23|accessyear=2008] 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

References

* [http://www.users.bigpond.com/haldane/lighthouse.html A Beacon on the Wilderness Coast: The Story of Point Hicks (Cape Everard)] by Robert Haldane
* [http://www.ga.gov.au/bin/gazd01?rec=244906 Point Hicks page] at Geoscience Australia

External links

* [http://www.parkweb.vic.gov.au/1process_details.cfm?place=111 Point Hicks lighthouse] at Parks Victoria


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