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Cooktown Tourist Information: FREECALL 1800 174 895
lakeland + laura
Lakeland
Lakeland was first occupied by the Western
Yalanji people. White settlement began with
the
Palmer River Gold Rush of 1873
and
the establishment of a large cattle property
known as Butchers Hill to supply meat to the
goldfields.
Lakeland was named after William Lakeland,
one of the earliest and most prolific
prospectors of the Cape York Peninsula.
He prospected with Christie Palmer on the
Palmer River Goldfields
in 1873, discovered
gold in
Coen
in 1878, found gold on the
Batavia river starting a gold rush there in 1892,
and discovered wolfram in the Pascoe River
and Iron Range.
Today the Lakeland region boats a
variety
of crops
including pawpaw, sunflower, teak,
sandalwood, watermelon, African mahogany,
passion fruit, pineapples, pongamia, seeds for
fodder, and 2 large banana farms.
Local company Swiss Farms is a leader in
the production of compost for their own and
others agricultural use thus reducing the
need for fertilizers. There are also still several
working cattle properties in the region.
The Lakeland township is located 81km
south west of Cooktown at the junction of
the Mulligan Highway and the Peninsula
Development Road. Although small it services
this busy region and is a popular stopping
place for travellers and locals going to
Cape York.
There is a roadhouse, coffee shop and store,
a hotel, and
Lakeland Caravan Park
offers
accommodation and safe van storage.