Cooks' Cottage, also known as Captain Cook's Cottage, is located in the Fitzroy Gardens, Melbourne, Australia. The cottage was constructed in 1755 in the English village of Great Ayton, North Yorkshire, by the parents of Captain James Cook, James and Grace Cook. It is a point of conjecture among historians whether James Cook, who was born in 1728, ever lived in the dwelling, but almost certainly he visited his parents at the house.
The inside of the cottage is styled in the manner of the 18th century, and though very few of the items in the house are originals from the Cook family, all are antiques representative of furnishings of the period. Likewise, the volunteer guides dress in period costume.
The cottage was deconstructed brick by brick and packed into 253 cases and 40 barrels for shipping on board Port Dunedin from Hull. Cuttings from ivy that adorned the house were also taken to be planted when the house was re-erected in Melbourne, though it is unclear whether the original plant survived fumigation by the Chief Quarantine Inspector of Plants for Victoria. Grimwade, a notable businessman and philanthropist, donated the house to the people of Victoria for the centenary anniversary of the settlement of Melbourne in October 1934.
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See also
- Stewart Park, Middlesbrough – site of the cottage where Captain James Cook was born.