Cape Tribulation was named by British navigator Lieutenant James Cook on 10 June 1770 (log date) after his ship hit a reef as it passed over it, north east of the cape, at 6pm. This made Cook pull away from the coast, looking for deeper water. At 10.30pm, the Endeavour hit a reef almost sinking Cook's ship, on what is now named Endeavour Reef. Cook recorded "...the north point [was named] Cape Tribulation because here began all our troubles".
In the 1930s some European settlers started arriving in Cape Tribulation, but they found the rainforest environment a difficult place to get established. Various ventures such as fruit and vegetable farming, fishing, cattle, and timber cutting were started and abandoned over the years, and having weekly barges as only transport in and out was another handicap. In the 1960s a rough track was bulldozed and the first vehicle access created, although the road remained a four wheel drive track until the early 1990s. In 2002, the road was finally sealed all the way to Cape Tribulation and in early 2011 the last bridge was built creating year round all weather access to Cape Tribulation for the first time.
Protests
In 1983, Cape Tribulation became widely known because of the blockade on the Bloomfield Track. Local government had decided to bulldoze a road through the rainforest north of Cape Tribulation to complete the coastal road to Cooktown. Protesters tried to stop the bulldozers and occupied trees to prevent their destruction. Many wild scenes followed but a large police presence with police dogs ensured that the road was built. By now the state and federal governments had started to realize the value of this ancient rainforest and despite protests from the local council the forests surrounding Cape Tribulation were given World Heritage Listing in 1988.
Tourist destination
From the mid 1980's the first backpackers hostels started getting built, and in the 1990s some more resorts
