logo
Australia removes repeatedly vandalised James Cook statue

Australia removes repeatedly vandalised James Cook statue

The Sun15-05-2025

MELBOURNE: The Australian city of Melbourne will not replace a damaged monument to British explorer James Cook, the mayor said, for fear it will inevitably be vandalised again.
The granite-and-bronze memorial in the southeastern Australian city has been a favourite target of vandals, who tore the monument down last year and scrawled 'cook the colony' on its surface.
It was similarly defaced in 2020 with spray-painted slogans of 'shame' and 'destroy white supremacy'.
Stephen Jolly, mayor of Yarra City in Melbourne's inner suburbs, said the Cook monument would not be replaced because it would just be 'damaged again'.
'I'm not in favour of demolishing statues of people in the past, even problematic ones, but don't think if we put it back up, it wouldn't be just damaged again,' he said in a statement Wednesday.
'It would be ongoing. How can we justify that?'
Vandals poured red paint over a different statue of Cook in the lead-up to Australia Day earlier this year.
Statues of colonial figures such as Cook are frequently targeted by vandals to draw attention to the plight of Australia's Indigenous peoples.
Cook sailed into Botany Bay in 1770 and claimed eastern Australia for Britain under the doctrine of 'terra nullius' -- land belonging to no one -- brushing over tens of thousands of years of Indigenous history.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Fire on cargo ship off Alaska carrying EVs left burning
Fire on cargo ship off Alaska carrying EVs left burning

The Sun

time2 days ago

  • The Sun

Fire on cargo ship off Alaska carrying EVs left burning

WASHINGTON: A fire on a cargo ship carrying electric vehicles off the coast of Alaska was left burning with salvage teams expected to intervene on Monday, according to media reports. The Alaskan coastguard received a distress call on Tuesday reporting a fire onboard the Morning Midas, a British-managed cargo ship with 22 crew members and carrying thousands of vehicles. The crew evacuated on a lifeboat before being rescued by another private vessel. An overflight of the cargo ship, currently located around 340 miles (547 kilometers) southwest of Adak, confirmed the ship was still burning on Wednesday, the coastguard said in a statement. 'Currently, there are no visual indications that the ship is taking on water or listing, and the extent of the damage is unknown,' it said. Dustin Eno, a spokesman for the ship's management company Zodiac Maritime, said there were no firefighting vessels nearby to help extinguish the blaze, the New York Times reported. A salvage team was expected to arrive on Monday, the outlet and the Los Angeles Times said. Video footage released by the coastguard shows smoke rising from the 600-foot (183-meter) vessel, which is reported to be carrying more than 3,000 vehicles, around 750 of which are electric or hybrid. Electric vehicles contain lithium-ion batteries, which are generally safe but can overheat and ignite if damaged. The ship is also estimated to be carrying hundreds of metric tons of gas fuel, according to the coastguard.

EV cargo ship burns off Alaska; salvage team due Monday
EV cargo ship burns off Alaska; salvage team due Monday

The Sun

time2 days ago

  • The Sun

EV cargo ship burns off Alaska; salvage team due Monday

WASHINGTON: A fire on a cargo ship carrying electric vehicles off the coast of Alaska was left burning with salvage teams expected to intervene on Monday, according to media reports. The Alaskan coastguard received a distress call on Tuesday reporting a fire onboard the Morning Midas, a British-managed cargo ship with 22 crew members and carrying thousands of vehicles. The crew evacuated on a lifeboat before being rescued by another private vessel. An overflight of the cargo ship, currently located around 340 miles (547 kilometers) southwest of Adak, confirmed the ship was still burning on Wednesday, the coastguard said in a statement. 'Currently, there are no visual indications that the ship is taking on water or listing, and the extent of the damage is unknown,' it said. Dustin Eno, a spokesman for the ship's management company Zodiac Maritime, said there were no firefighting vessels nearby to help extinguish the blaze, the New York Times reported. A salvage team was expected to arrive on Monday, the outlet and the Los Angeles Times said. Video footage released by the coastguard shows smoke rising from the 600-foot (183-meter) vessel, which is reported to be carrying more than 3,000 vehicles, around 750 of which are electric or hybrid. Electric vehicles contain lithium-ion batteries, which are generally safe but can overheat and ignite if damaged. The ship is also estimated to be carrying hundreds of metric tons of gas fuel, according to the coastguard.

Mushroom murders: Accused killer says she lied to police
Mushroom murders: Accused killer says she lied to police

The Star

time4 days ago

  • The Star

Mushroom murders: Accused killer says she lied to police

SYDNEY: An Australian woman accused of murdering three people with poisonous mushrooms told a court on Thursday (June 5) she lied to police because she feared being held "responsible". Erin Patterson (pic) is charged with murdering her estranged husband's parents and aunt in 2023 by spiking their beef Wellington lunch with lethal death cap mushrooms. She is also accused of attempting to murder a fourth guest -- her husband's uncle -- who survived after a long stay in hospital. Patterson maintains the lunch was poisoned by accident and has pleaded not guilty to all charges. An Australian court was told Thursday how Patterson used a food dehydrator to prepare mushrooms that she had collected while foraging. Patterson later told police she did not own a food dehydrator, the prosecution said. "You lied about dehydrating food and mushrooms because you knew that if you told police the truth, then that would implicate you in the poisoned lunch," prosecution lawyer Nanette Rogers said on Thursday. "Agree or disagree?" Patterson responded: "I agree that I lied because I was afraid I would be held responsible." The court previously heard that Patterson used a food dehydrator to preserve store-bought and foraged mushrooms, which she then kept in her pantry. Days after the deadly lunch, security cameras allegedly captured Patterson discarding the dehydrator at a local rubbish dump. Detectives said they found traces of death cap mushrooms in the dehydrator, the court previously heard. "I didn't deliberately put death cap mushrooms in the meal," Patterson told the court on Thursday. The prosecution alleges Patterson intentionally poisoned her lunch guests and took care that she did not consume the deadly mushrooms herself. Her defence says Patterson ate the same meal as the others but did not fall as sick. Patterson asked her estranged husband Simon to the family lunch at her secluded rural Victoria home in July 2023. Simon turned down the invitation because he felt too uncomfortable, the court heard previously. The pair were long estranged but still legally married. Simon's parents Don and Gail were happy to attend, dying days after eating the home-cooked meal. Simon's aunt Heather Wilkinson also died, while her husband Ian fell seriously ill but later recovered. Patterson told the court on Thursday if Simon had attended the lunch, she would have "given him a beef Wellington too". "But not one with death cap mushrooms in it intentionally," she said. Patterson's defence lawyer Colin Mandy on Thursday asked if she intended to kill or cause serious injury to her lunch guests that day. Patterson replied she did not. The trial continues. - AFP lec/sft/tym

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store