colours

A botanical illustration is not primarily judged on its artistic beauty, but on its scientific accuracy. It must portray a plant with enough precision and detail for it to be recognized and distinguished from other species. The beauty of the drawing or painting is secondary to its scientific accuracy but, in the hands of a talented botanical artist, the artwork goes beyond the scientific requirements. From its inception, botanical art has been a fundamental means of communication for science and its dissemination. While still a scientific tool, it has simultaneously starred in the curious phenomenon of becoming a popular artistic medium, provoking an unusual dichotomy in the world of arts and sciences. There’s something compelling about building a relationship with a plant. Botanical artists have a passion for plants. Unless the artist knows the plant in all its moods, and in all the stages of its development, there will be something lacking in the artwork. Through their work, botanical artists can fulfill many roles: explorer, discoverer, educator, scientific collaborator, and creator of beauty. The qualities of artistic appeal and technical accuracy are the defining characteristics of the best botanical art. This documentation of plant life is not only for art but also for science and environmental research. Source: magsq.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Artistic-Endeavou...

Flat-weed, Common Cat’s-ear, Hairy Cat’s-ear, False Dandelion, Long-rooted Cat’s-ear, Hawkweed Native to Europe. Naturalised throughout Australia and New Zealand. Perennial herb to 80 cm tall and oblanceolate (lance-shaped with point attached to stem) leaves 2-30 cm long and 10-40 mm wide. Leaf margins are toothed to slightly lobed. Leaf surfaces are rough and covered in short stiff hairs. Flower-heads are 20-30 mm across on leafless and slightly scaly stems. The flowers are bright yellow. The fruit is a cypsela or achene (dry, indehiscent, and one-seeded), 8-17 mm long with a long beak. Source: vro.agriculture.vic.gov.au/dpi/vro/vrosite.nsf/pages/sip_...

Cooktown A peaceful, tranquil location inhabited only by nomadic Aboriginals for thousands of years prior to becoming Cooks Town. Cooktown was later named in 1873 in honour of Captain James Cook, who in 1770 beached the HMB Endeavour on the Southern banks of which he later called the Endeavour River (Wabalumbaal) to undertake repairs after running aground on one of the many reefs that fringe this coastline. Despite the developments and industrial activity that took place, today the region in many respects remains as is it was 1000’s of years ago. By the late 1800s, Cooktown was a busy commercial port which underpinned its existence for welcoming supplies and dispatching the regions produce whether it was gold, beef or timber. With the development of roads and alternative transportation regions south of the Cape like Mossman, Port Douglas, Mareeba, Cairns and Atherton outgrew Cooktown. By the early 1990s, Cooktown’s economic windfalls had all but disappeared. With time new modern minerals were found and new industries were created and our little village sprang to life again to become the capital of Cape York. Pearling Australia’s pearling industry began hundreds of years ago with Aboriginals harvesting abundant shallow water pearl shells from waters of the north coast of Cape York. By the time of European settlement, the Aboriginals had a well-established trading network for pearl shells, both within Australia and with Beach-de-mer fishermen (collectors of sea-slugs) who, since the late 17th and early 18th centuries, visited northern Australia to trade with the indigenous inhabitants of this remote coastline. Interestingly, in 1812 the first Australian pearls were discovered in Queensland waters by Captain William Campbell. The first recorded harvest of pearl shells from Paumoto Archipelago followed in 1814. Cooktown and most of Cape York once boasted a large fleet of Pearl luggers to service the roaring trade that followed, Beche-de-mer fishing (Sea Cucumber) Source: www.mungumby.com/things-to-do/regional-history/