punt

In 1899, in order to commemorate the landing of Cook, an area of 100.86 hectares was set apart and dedicated as a Public Recreation Reserve. I wonder if that is what they are celebrating.

It is the dedication of Captain Cook Reserve at the landing place in Kurnell.

The ceremony happened on Saturday 6 May 1899. The officials and guests arrived by steamers and were brought to the jetty "by the steam punt from Tom Ugly's Point, above which was carried a framework from which floated a variety of colours." (See link below)

A very full description including the speeches is in the Sydney Morning Herald the following Monday 8 May 1899 (page 4). It is an interesting read and really brings this photo to life - trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/14213166

If this is a photo of the people attending the dedication party then somewhere amongst them is Joseph H. Carruthers, a great Australian who probably did more for Captain Cook than any other. It was thanks to his work that Kurnell was set aside for the public to enjoy. He likened it to Australia's "Plymouth Rock". Amongst his other work, he prompted the erection of the statue to Cook in London, near Admiralty Arch, and the 1928 Cook celebrations in Hawai'i.

Captain Cook Society There is another photo of the Monument, misnamed by the photographer Charles Kerry as La Perouse, at the same time -

Captain Cook Society J.H. Carruthers (as Minister for Lands) is listed as attending, and his full speech is quoted in the Trove link above.

" As the Plymouth Rock is the most sacred ground
to the Americans, so may this historic place, rich in
its traditions, be the one place in our island continent
more consecrated than another to the great man who
here first set foot upon our shores, and in his foresight
secured for the empire and its people a territory
unsurpassed in the whole universe. "

so awesome

Great image! Look at the padding they wore then. With today's linemen and linebackers, you would be seriously injured wearing that.

Yes, back in the days when Harvard actually HAD a football team.

According to this 1912 game story query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9E06E1DD1E3AE6... Gardner was Harvard quarterback and Felton was Harvard left-end.

Harry Gardner and Sam Felton according to query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9B0CE7D9123FE6... and 1912 was their final year (and a championship one at that!)

The Diamantina River is a major river located in Central West Queensland and the far north of South Australia. The river was named by William Landsborough in 1866 for Lady Diamantina Bowen (née Roma), wife of Sir George Bowen, the first Governor of Queensland.[1] It has three major tributaries the Western River, Mayne River and Farrars Creek.[3] Most of the basin of the Diamantina is very flat—even the highest points in the northeast do not reach 500 m (1,600 ft) above sea level and Lake Eyre itself is 16 m (52 ft) below sea level. Apart from a few streams near Winton (the largest town in the basin) almost all rivers in the basin flow southwestwards towards Birdsville. The Diamantina River has no main channel, rather it is a series of wide relatively shallow channels.[3] The major feature of the river's sluggish course is Diamantina National Park about halfway between Winton and Birdsville. Apart from the national park, almost all land in the basin is used for grazing cattle and sheep, though numbers fluctuate greatly and considerable skill is required on the part of graziers. Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamantina_River