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The Independent
14-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Australia removes monument to renowned British explorer James Cook
An often vandalised monument to renowned British explorer James Cook in Melbourne, Australia, will not be repaired due to the growing cost of doing so, however, authorities reject accusations that the vandals have won. Statues and monuments to the 18th-century naval officer are frequently targeted by opponents of Britain's settlement of the country without a treaty with its Indigenous people. In 1770, then Lt. Cook charted the Australian east coast, laying the groundwork for the establishment of Sydney as the first British colony on the continent. The granite and bronze monument to the master navigator and cartographer in an inner-city Melbourne park was vandalised days after the anniversary of the first British settlers' arrival at Sydney Cove was commemorated on January 26. Opponents of Australia Day celebrations denounce the public holiday as 'Invasion Day.' There are growing calls for the country to find a less divisive national day. The monument in Melbourne's Edinburgh Gardens was snapped at its base and spray-painted with the words 'cook the colony.' Local councillors vote unanimously Mayor Stephen Jolly, head of the Yarra City Council, which is a municipality near the heart of Melbourne, said his fellow councillors had voted unanimously on Tuesday night against spending 15,000 Australian dollars ($9,700) on repairing the monument, which remains in storage. Jolly said the decision to permanently remove the monument, which included an image of Cook's face cast in bronze, was about economics rather than taking a position in Australia's culture wars. 'It's about being economically rational. It's AU$15,000 a pop every time we have to repair it and it's persistently getting either demolished or vandalised or tagged,' Jolly told the ABC. 'It's just a waste of ratepayers' money. We can't afford to do that,' Jolly added. But Victoria state's Melbourne-based conservative opposition leader Brad Battin condemned removing such memorials as surrendering to vandals. 'We need to stand strong and remember the fact that this is part of our history,' Battin told reporters. "If you start to remove the history of our state and our country because of activists, then you're actually giving in to those that are campaigning against it,' Battin added. Jolly disagreed that his council had given the vandals what they wanted. 'No, I think they would've loved for us to put it back up and then they could've just tagged it again or destroyed it again and just had this ongoing sort of little war going on in Edinburgh Gardens,' Jolly said. 'I think they're probably the most disappointed people that it's not going to be there anymore,' Jolly added. Monument base remains attached to a traffic cone The base of the monument remained at the entrance of the park on Wednesday with a traffic cone attached to warn cyclists, joggers and pedestrians of the trip hazard it presents. Someone has scrawled a smiling face and a torso on the cone in an apparent reference to the memorial that had once stood in its place. Jolly said a local branch of the Captain Cook Society, an international group that celebrates the explorer, has offered to preserve the bronze plaques. Melbourne-based society member Bill Lang said discussions were underway to find a short-term home for the monument, such as a museum. Lang said the council's decision not to repair the monument was disheartening. "It's very disappointing for every open-minded Australian that believes that there are lots of things that we can learn about and learn from our history that we should celebrate,' Lang said.
BreakingNews.ie
14-05-2025
- Politics
- BreakingNews.ie
Captain Cook monument removed from Melbourne park after repeated vandalism
An Australian local government has decided against repairing an often-vandalised monument to renowned British explorer Captain James Cook because it would be destroyed again. But the mayor rejected accusations that the vandals have won. Advertisement Statues and monuments to the 18th century naval officer are common in Australia and are often defaced by opponents of Britain's settlement of the country without a treaty with its indigenous people. A person jogs near a traffic cone where a monument of British explorer Captain James Cook once stood in Melbourne, Australia (Rod McGuirk/AP) In 1770, then-Lieutenant Cook charted the Australian east coast where Sydney would become the first British colony on the continent. The granite and bronze monument to the master navigator and cartographer in an inner-city Melbourne park was vandalised days after the anniversary of the first British settlers' arrival at Sydney Cove was commemorated on January 26. Opponents of Australia Day celebrations denounce the public holiday as 'Invasion Day'. Advertisement There are growing calls for the country to find a less divisive national day. The monument in Melbourne's Edinburgh Gardens was snapped at its base and spray-painted with the words 'cook the colony'. Mayor Stephen Jolly, head of the Yarra City Council, which is a municipality near the heart of Melbourne, said his fellow councillors had voted unanimously on Tuesday night against spending 15,000 Australian dollars (£7,285) on repairing the monument, which remains in storage. Mr Jolly said the decision to permanently remove the monument, which included an image of Cook's face cast in bronze, was about economics rather than taking a position in Australia's culture wars. Advertisement 'It's about being economically rational. It's 15,000 dollars a pop every time we have to repair it and it's persistently getting either demolished or vandalised or tagged,' Mr Jolly told Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 'It's just a waste of ratepayers' money. We can't afford to do that,' he added. But Victoria state's Melbourne-based conservative opposition leader Brad Battin condemned removing such memorials as surrendering to vandals. 'We need to stand strong and remember the fact that this is part of our history,' Mr Battin told reporters. Advertisement 'If you start to remove the history of our state and our country because of activists, then you're actually giving in to those that are campaigning against it,' he added. Mr Jolly disagreed that his council had given the vandals what they wanted. 'No, I think they would've loved for us to put it back up and then they could've just tagged it again or destroyed it again and just had this ongoing sort of little war going on in Edinburgh Gardens,' he said. 'I think they're probably the most disappointed people that it's not going to be there anymore,' Mr Jolly added. Advertisement A traffic cone sits where a monument of British explorer Captain James Cook once stood (Rod McGuirk/AP) The base of the monument remained at the entrance of the park on Wednesday with a traffic cone attached to warn cyclists, joggers and pedestrians of the trip hazard it presents. Someone has scrawled a smiling face and a torso on the cone in an apparent reference to the memorial that had once stood in its place. Mr Jolly said a local branch of the Captain Cook Society, an international group that celebrates the explorer, has offered to preserve the bronze plaques. Melbourne-based society member Bill Lang said discussions were under way to find a short-term home for the monument, such as a museum. Mr Lang said the council's decision not to repair the monument was disheartening. 'It's very disappointing for every open-minded Australian that believes that there are lots of things that we can learn about and learn from our history that we should celebrate,' he said.
The Independent
14-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Australian local government removes often-vandalized monument to renowned British explorer
An Australian local government has decided against repairing an often-vandalized monument to renowned British explorer James Cook because it would be destroyed again. But the mayor on Wednesday rejected accusations that the vandals have won. Statues and monuments to the 18th century naval officer are common in Australia and are often defaced by opponents of Britain's settlement of the country without a treaty with its Indigenous people. In 1770, then Lt. Cook charted the Australian east coast where Sydney would become the first British colony on the continent. The granite and bronze monument to the master navigator and cartographer in an inner-city Melbourne park was vandalized days after the anniversary of the first British settlers' arrival at Sydney Cove was commemorated on Jan. 26. Opponents of Australia Day celebrations denounce the public holiday as 'Invasion Day.' There are growing calls for the country to find a less divisive national day. The monument in Melbourne's Edinburgh Gardens was snapped at its base and spray painted with the words 'cook the colony.' Local councilors vote unanimously against repairing monument Mayor Stephen Jolly, head of the Yarra City Council, which is a municipality near the heart of Melbourne, said his fellow councilors had voted unanimously on Tuesday night against spending 15,000 Australian dollars ($9,700) on repairing the monument, which remains in storage. Jolly said the decision to permanently remove the monument, which included an image of Cook's face cast in bronze, was about economics rather than taking a position in Australia's culture wars. 'It's about being economically rational. It's AU$15,000 a pop every time we have to repair it and it's persistently getting either demolished or vandalized or tagged,' Jolly told Australian Broadcasting Corp. 'It's just a waste of ratepayers money. We can't afford to do that,' Jolly added. But Victoria state's Melbourne-based conservative opposition leader Brad Battin condemned removing such memorials as surrendering to vandals. 'We need to stand strong and remember the fact that this is part of our history,' Battin told reporters. "If you start to remove the history of our state and our country because of activists, then you're actually giving in to those that are campaigning against it,' Battin added. Jolly disagreed that his council had given the vandals what they wanted. 'No, I think they would've loved for us to put it back up and then they could've just tagged it again or destroyed it again and just had this ongoing sort of little war going on in Edinburgh Gardens,' Jolly said. 'I think they're probably the most disappointed people that it's not going to be there anymore,' Jolly added. Monument base remains attached to a traffic cone The base of the monument remained at the entrance of the park on Wednesday with a traffic cone attached to warn cyclists, joggers and pedestrians of the trip hazard it presents. Someone has scrawled a smiling face and a torso on the cone in an apparent reference to the memorial that had once stood in its place. Jolly said a local branch of the Captain Cook Society, an international group that celebrates the explorer, have offered to preserve the bronze plaques. Melbourne-based society member Bill Lang said discussions were under way to find a short-term home for the monument, such as a museum. Lang said the council's decision not to repair the monument was disheartening. "It's very disappointing for every open-minded Australian that believes that there are lots of things that we can learn about and learn from our history that we should celebrate,' Lang said.
Associated Press
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Australian local government removes often-vandalized monument to renowned British explorer
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — An Australian local government has decided against repairing an often-vandalized monument to renowned British explorer James Cook because it would be destroyed again. But the mayor on Wednesday rejected accusations that the vandals have won. Statues and monuments to the 18th century naval officer are common in Australia and are often defaced by opponents of Britain's settlement of the country without a treaty with its Indigenous people. In 1770, then Lt. Cook charted the Australian east coast where Sydney would become the first British colony on the continent. The granite and bronze monument to the master navigator and cartographer in an inner-city Melbourne park was vandalized days after the anniversary of the first British settlers' arrival at Sydney Cove was commemorated on Jan. 26. Opponents of Australia Day celebrations denounce the public holiday as 'Invasion Day.' There are growing calls for the country to find a less divisive national day. The monument in Melbourne's Edinburgh Gardens was snapped at its base and spray painted with the words 'cook the colony.' Local councilors vote unanimously against repairing monument Mayor Stephen Jolly, head of the Yarra City Council, which is a municipality near the heart of Melbourne, said his fellow councilors had voted unanimously on Tuesday night against spending 15,000 Australian dollars ($9,700) on repairing the monument, which remains in storage. Jolly said the decision to permanently remove the monument, which included an image of Cook's face cast in bronze, was about economics rather than taking a position in Australia's culture wars. 'It's about being economically rational. It's AU$15,000 a pop every time we have to repair it and it's persistently getting either demolished or vandalized or tagged,' Jolly told Australian Broadcasting Corp. 'It's just a waste of ratepayers money. We can't afford to do that,' Jolly added. But Victoria state's Melbourne-based conservative opposition leader Brad Battin condemned removing such memorials as surrendering to vandals. 'We need to stand strong and remember the fact that this is part of our history,' Battin told reporters. 'If you start to remove the history of our state and our country because of activists, then you're actually giving in to those that are campaigning against it,' Battin added. Jolly disagreed that his council had given the vandals what they wanted. 'No, I think they would've loved for us to put it back up and then they could've just tagged it again or destroyed it again and just had this ongoing sort of little war going on in Edinburgh Gardens,' Jolly said. 'I think they're probably the most disappointed people that it's not going to be there anymore,' Jolly added. Monument base remains attached to a traffic cone The base of the monument remained at the entrance of the park on Wednesday with a traffic cone attached to warn cyclists, joggers and pedestrians of the trip hazard it presents. Someone has scrawled a smiling face and a torso on the cone in an apparent reference to the memorial that had once stood in its place. Jolly said a local branch of the Captain Cook Society, an international group that celebrates the explorer, have offered to preserve the bronze plaques. Melbourne-based society member Bill Lang said discussions were under way to find a short-term home for the monument, such as a museum. Lang said the council's decision not to repair the monument was disheartening. 'It's very disappointing for every open-minded Australian that believes that there are lots of things that we can learn about and learn from our history that we should celebrate,' Lang said.
Daily Mail
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Vandals who defaced Captain Cook memorial win the ultimate victory as fate of the statue is sealed
A contentious Captain Cook memorial that has been the target of repeated vandalism is set to be scrapped. The City of Yarra on Tuesday voted unanimously to remove the statue, which stands at the entrance to Edinburgh Gardens in Melbourne 's inner north. The granite monument was toppled and graffitied over the Australia Day long weekend and is currently in council storage. A council report found that it would prove costly, around $15,000, to repair and reinstate the statue after it was toppled and spray painted with the words 'cook the colony' last year. More than $100,000 has already been spent over the past 25 years to maintain the memorial. Mayor Stephen Jolly said removing it would eliminate the yearly maintenance costs. 'It's a waste of ratepayers' money,' Mr Jolly told ABC Melbourne. The memorial has been vandalised several times since 2018. In 2020, the memorial's plaque featuring Cook's face was spray-painted over, with the words 'shame' and 'remove this' scrawled beneath. A similar statue of Captain Cook was hacked off at the ankles in St Kilda, and another statue of Queen Victoria near the city's Botanic Gardens was splattered with red paint last year on the eve of Australia Day. Mr Jolly denied council was giving in to the vandals. 'I don't think it's a good idea to destroy statues of people from the past... But we simply can't afford it,' he said. 'If we wanted to keep it there permanently, we would probably have to have security guards there (and more) lighting. I just don't think the locals want that.' Premier Jacinta Allan described the ongoing vandalism of monuments as 'deeply disrespectful' and called for community division to end. 'It is disappointing,' she told reporters on Wednesday. The bronze plaques, which belong to the memorial, are expected to be given to the Captain Cook Society, which celebrates the British explorer.
