Wednesday 2 January 2013

The Town of 1770 Seventeen-Seventy




After yet another marathon drive all the way from our friends home in Paradise Point, and a good night sleep in their lounge..! We reached the town of 1770. I would take the term TOWN lightly. It would in European proportions possibly pass for a small village… but that is being generous! Regardless of size this little gem is a Beauty, hidden away like a secret treasure. 

1770 or as it’s officially titled Seventeen-Seventy is said to be named so as it was built on the site of the second landing by James Cook and his crew of HM Bark Endeavour the year of… you guessed it! 1770

I had heard quite a few people rave about this place and especially Paul who visited about 8 years ago. I was excited to see it for a first time and Paul was intrigued to see how it had changed.

When I did a bit of research online everyone seemed to be talking about Cool Bananas in 1770 as the place to stay. We decided to check it out and although it looks like a cool place.. it’s NOT IN 1770…! Cool Bananas is located in the town of Agnes Waters about 8 km away… A lot of places seem to advertise using 1770 as its whereabouts but if you want to really stay in this tiny town DO check your map to make sure you get the real deal.

1770 really only have a few accommodation options a camp site with a small shop and then there is the essential meeting point the Pub! (or the Play ground which is now an essential in every park and on any piece of greenery in Australia.) 

The most noticeable change to Paul was without doubt this old Pub, 1770 Beach Hotel – The Tree. He remembered it as a shack with a pub and a caf/shop serving simple grub. But It’s a different story now… The pub and the now slightly fancier Restaurant are quite divided, mainly by the fact that you can’t sit on the cosy porch bit unless you are eating from the restaurant menu.. Which is fair enough. As we arrived late to 1770 we thought we’d grab a quick simple meal to go with our cider and beer so as we climbed up the stairs we made a left turn to the pub bar and ordered a surprisingly tasty plate of nachos for $10.


Paul and I stayed at the 1770 camping ground for 3 nights where I had my very first camping adventure in a tent! It couldn’t have been more perfect as we set up on the beach front and lit our very own bonfire every night, grilling corn on the cob as we watched the sun go down.



If you are about on a Sunday, Do make sure you visit the small market where you can mingle with locals and indulge in a cup of the best coffee around.


Over all 1770 is still the beautiful and very special place it used to be but just like Byron Bay or x amount of Thai Islands, commercialness and investment seekers have taken over… for Good AND Bad…