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Early Granite Kerb and Channel System, Cooktown

Adelaide, Charlotte, Furneaux, Green, Helen, Hogg, Hope and Walker Streets and Webber Esplanade, Cooktown

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Typical kerb and channel, with later vehicle crossover, Cooktown (Queensland Government, 2010); EHP Training and Education

Typical kerb and channel, with later vehicle crossover, Cooktown (Queensland Government, 2010)

Kerb and channel, Charlotte Street (Queensland Government, 2010); EHP Training and Education

Kerb and channel, Charlotte Street (Queensland Government, 2010)

Cooktown’s early kerb and channeling is constructed in granite and sourced from various sites around the town. The earliest was laid in the ealry 1880s with granite cut from boulders found on Grassy Hill. The council operated a quarry in Hope Street during the 1890s which supplied some of the rock. During this decade and through to 1905, the stone kerbing was progressively installed in all the main streets. Streets receiving substantial storm water were fitted with large granite box culverts. The intersection of Adelaide and Hogg streets has an early stone-pitched dish drain. Essentially, the provision of hand hewn kerb and channeling illustrates the confidence and optimism of local business and civic leaders in the future of Cooktown in the late 19th century.

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Coordinates: -15.46788895, 145.24987583

Full details of this heritage-registered place are in the Heritage register.

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Licence
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Last reviewed
1 July 2022
Last updated
28 February 2023