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The ancient ship in this photo is the working replica of a Dutch East Indies ship called the Duyfken (Dutch for Dove). It was built at the Maritime Museum in Fremantle, Western Australia. To our surprise and delight, the Duyfken had reached Coffs Harbour just prior to us – and was to be open to the public. Limited time prevented us staying for the public inspection, but an early start avoided the crowds and gave us good photos from the wharfside. In early 1606, under the command of Willem Jansz, the original Duyfken became the first recorded European ship to find Australia when it sailed down the western coast of Cape York, the long peninsula at the north east of the continent. Jansz was actually surveying the coast of ‘Nova Guinea’, but was driven from that coast by the monsoon and, when he again reached shore – it was Australia. His maps lay undiscovered in the archives for many years, and Jansz himself died without realising he had found the sixth continent!
Seeing the Duyfken was an unexpected and very welcome bonus to our visit to Coffs Harbour. Unfortunately, it's unlikely to be there should you visit, as it is based in Fremantle and travels extensively for public viewing.
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The Coffs Harbour Visitors Information Centre is located at the corner of Rose Ave and Marcia St, tel: (02) 6652 1522 or, toll-free, 1800 025 650. The marina off the end of High St is a departure point for fishing charters, whale-watching cruises from May to September and scuba-diving cruises to the Solitary Islands Marine Reserve though there is also one based at Mullaway. The town beaches, south to north, are Boambee Beach (which extends south to Sawtell), Jetty Beach and Park Beach. Further north are Diggers Beach, Campbells Beach, Mid Sapphire Beach, Moonee Beach, Shelly Beach, Emerald Beach, Fiddamans Beach and Sandys Beach. The next stop is Woolgoolga, north of which are more beaches before the land becomes National Park. Moonee Beach, 10 km north of the Big Banana, is a large beach with a small settlement and a foreshore lined with pine trees. It has good facilities. Emerald Beach (17 km north of the Big Banana) is also attractive, though Sandy Beach (a further 2 km north, on the other side of Bare Bluff) used to quieter and more secluded but has undergone much development in the last decade. The Coffs Harbour Historical Museum at 191 High St, near the Earle St corner (east of the Mall), is open Tuesday to Thursday and Sunday from 1.30 p.m. to 4.00 p.m. It has Aboriginal artefacts (mostly large and carefully-crafted pebble tools), cedar-getters' implements, mining and farming relics and the lantern from the South Solitary Island Lighthouse, made of brass and hand-cut prism glass, which was in use from 1880 to 1975. On the latter date the lighthouse was automated, tel: (02) 6652 5794. The North Coast Regional Botanic Garden in Hardacre St (off High St on the northern side) covers 20 ha and displays both native and exotic flora with rainforest areas and prolific birdlife. Covering 19ha, Coffs Creek loops around three quarters of it. There are various self-guided walks and admission is free though donations are gratefully accepted. Leave a Comment
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