{"id":1955,"date":"2013-07-09T09:42:26","date_gmt":"2013-07-08T23:42:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onlyaustralia.com.au\/?p=1955"},"modified":"2025-05-15T09:25:09","modified_gmt":"2025-05-14T23:25:09","slug":"cooks-cottage-spelling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onlyoz.com.au\/oa\/stuff\/trivia\/cooks-cottage-spelling","title":{"rendered":"Cooks’ Cottage Spelling"},"content":{"rendered":"

How to spell the surname COOK in relation to the beautiful little cottage in Fitzroy Gardens.<\/p>\n

Captain James Cook\u2019s father\u2019s cottage, located originally in Bridge Street, Great Ayton<\/a>, was auctioned and sold in 1933. After being purchased and presented to the Victoria State Government of Australia, it was dismantled and re-erected in Fitzroy Gardens<\/a>, where it is open to the public.<\/p>\n

\"Cooks'
\nCooks’ Cottage<\/h2>\n

Many moons ago, a museum in England wrote to us saying that the owners of the cottage were Mr & Mrs Cook, and therefore the correct spelling of the Cottage should be Cook’s Cottage<\/strong>. \u00a0The museum in question was the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum, so you would think, they would know.<\/p>\n

Both Fitzroy Gardens and Melbourne City Council web sites have the spelling as Cooks’ Cottage<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

We wrote to the owners of the Fitzroy Gardens web site asking for clarification, who kindly replied with..<\/p>\n

It is known as Cooks’ Cottage because of the plural use of the family name. I have included information (below) about the correct use of the apostrophe in written English.<\/p>\n

Apostrophes are probably the most misused punctuation marks in contemporary written English. When used correctly, they enhance language by providing extra information in a sentence to better convey your meaning. When not used correctly, they can muddle your message and irritate pedants like myself.<\/p>\n

There are two primary situations when apostrophes are used. The first is to denote ownership and the second to indicate an abbreviation. (A ‘contraction’ I think is the technical term.)<\/p>\n

Ownership<\/strong><\/p>\n

When two words are linked through one having some sort of ownership over another the apostrophe indicates this.<\/p>\n

The girl’s cat killed an alarming number of small native birds.<\/p>\n

The girl owns a cat. When we refer to her cat, we use an apostrophe to show this.
\nIncidentally, cat skins make great hats. To wit: The environmental warrior’s hat was made entirely of cat skins. (Note the apostrophe.)<\/p>\n

Using Apostrophes with Singular and Plural Words<\/strong><\/p>\n

When one person owns something, the apostrophe comes before the ‘s’. When more than one person owns something, the apostrophe comes after the ‘s’.<\/p>\n

A girl’s cat bit the postman.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. When one girl had a cat, then the girl’s cat bit the postman.<\/li>\n
  2. When one girl and her sister had a cat, then the girls’ cat bit the postman.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    So, the correct spelling in relation to the cottage is.. Cooks’ Cottage<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Sources<\/strong><\/p>\n