
Ram Head or since 1970 Rame Head () 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
og date Cook named
Rame Head Ram Head, after a point that can be seen going into
Plymouth Sound,
Cook wrote the name Ram in
Modern English s used todayand that spelling was adopted by
Aaron Arrowsmith,
George Bass,
Matthew Flinders
Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was a British navigator and cartographer who led the first inshore circumnavigation of mainland Australia, then called New Holland. He is also credited as being the first person to u ...
,
James Grant James Grant may refer to:
Politics and law
*Sir James Grant, 1st Baronet (died 1695), Scottish lawyer
*Sir James Grant, 6th Baronet (1679–1747), Scottish Whig politician
*Sir James Grant, 8th Baronet (1738–1811), Scottish member of parliament
* ...
,
Louis de Freycinet and even
John Hawesworth when commissioned by the Admiralty to edit Cook's papers and journal 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 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 Headland in Cornwall, and the small village nearby mainly used the
New modem English spelling, we use today. Around 1810 the small village and Headland, in Cornwall, reverted to the
Old Modern English spelling of Rame.
There are many grave stones in the area, dating back to the early and mid-1700s that also used "Ram".
In 1986 one of Australia's foremost maritime historians, Lieutenant Commander Geoffrey Ingleton RAN – "An accomplished and fine Cartographer"
–
wrote in his book ''Matthew Flinders: Navigator and Chartmaker''
age 42 "The coastlines of both New South Wales (the present Victoria) and Van Diemens Land (the present Tasmania) were carefully delineated by Flinders, considering the nature and quickness of the survey. Particularly interesting was Flinders' correct identification of Cook's Ram Head, so named for its similarity to Rame Head in England in the western approaches to Plymouth. Flinders was familiar with its characteristic appearance – a conical hill on a distinctive promontory. The only feature on this coast SW of Cape Howe which meets exactly that description is the present Rame Head. This historic headland is identical with that shown on Flinders' charts; further, the name was correctly spelt by Flinders."
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.
See also
* Captain
James Cook
James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...
Notes
References
Placenames Australia journal of the ''Australian National Placenames Survey'', June 2002
Rame Headat
Geoscience Australia
External links
Captain Cook's Journal of the First Voyage Around the World''A Voyage to Terra Australis''{{1stVoyageCookAus
Croajingolong National Park
Headlands of Victoria (Australia)