Like “The Artist Formerly Known As… “, 1770 also causes a fair amount of confusion. In fact, apart from Ray and Gillian in Hervey Bay, I bet that you haven’t got the foggiest idea what I’m talking about…?

1770, sometimes written as ‘Seventeen Seventy”, is actually the name of a town. Not just any town either, for it was the entry point for Captain Cook and his lot into Queensland. In the year 1773. (OK that last digit was a joke, forgive my silly humour.)

The road signs are a little confused too. For instance, usually one would see something like “Brisbane 450” indicating the distance to the destination, in this case the state capital. So in an attempt to avoid a cryptic-looking “1770 120” road sign, the 1170 council decided to refer to the area as “The Town of 1770” on their signs. In usual Aussie style, accepting this place as a ‘town’ requires a massive dose of artistic license — there’s a campsite and a two bars, no shop though.

All said and done, it’s quite a nice place to spend the day by the beach and take the obligatory visit to the headland, which would have been the first piece of Queensland Cook set eyes upon, back in the Seventies. Seventeen Seventies, that is.

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