 Even this exercise was not successful and a number of unsold lots within the current national park were set aside as a public reserve in the 1899 along with an area similarly reserved at an earlier date.The reserve, totalling 100 hectares at the time, was managed by a Trust under the auspices of the Department of Lands.From the 1820s Captain Cook's Landing Place was a popular destination for people with an interest in European history in Australia.