Rame Head (Victoria)
Ram Head or since 1970 Rame Head (37°46′S 149°29′E / 37.767°S 149.483°E) is a coastal headland in eastern Victoria, Australia. It is within the Croajingolong National Park.
The local aboriginal people call the headland Konowee or Kouowee. James Cook (Captain Cook) named today's Rame Head as he passed by on 19 April 1770 [log date]. Cook named Rame Head Ram Head, after a point that can be seen going into Plymouth Sound,[1] Cook wrote the name Ram in new Modern English [as used today] and that spelling was used by Aaron Arrowsmith, George Bass, Matthew Flinders, James Grant, Louis de Freycinet and even John Hawesworth when commissioned by the Admiralty to edit Cook's papers and journal[2] and that spelling became official when the Admiralty published Matthew Flinders' charts, dated January and February 1814. The Royal Navy and later the Australian Navy continued to use Cook's spelling of "Ram" for the headland in Australia.In the early 1800s; while Ram Head was still being used in Australia, the British reverted back to the Early Modern English spelling of "Rame" for the point in Cornwall UK. In 1971, the Victorian Government gazetted the point as "Rame" to match its Cornish namesake.
In Cook's time, Naval Charts used Cook's spelling for the point in Cornwall, and the small village nearby mainly used the new spelling, around 1810 the point in Cornwall once again reverted to Rame. There are many grave stones in the area, dating back to the early and mid 1700's that also used "Ram".
There is a walking track to the "summit" of the head. However, this point lacks a clear vantage point over surrounding scrub, and is simply marked by a trig point.
Notes
References
Placenames Australia, journal of the Australian National Placenames Survey, June 2002 Rame Head at Geoscience Australia
External links
- Captain James Cook
- Captain Cook's Journal of the First Voyage Around the World
- A Voyage to Terra Australis
