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Arab News
15-05-2025
- General
- Arab News
Australia removes repeatedly vandalized James Cook statue
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 vandalized again. The granite-and-bronze memorial in the southeastern Australian city has been a favorite 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 favor 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.
News.com.au
14-05-2025
- Politics
- News.com.au
City of Yarra in Melbourne to remove Catptain Cook statue after repeat vandalism
A Melbourne council will permanently remove a Captain Cook memorial from a public park. Yarra City Council announced on Wednesday it would not restore the bronze and granite monument to avoid further repair costs caused by repeat vandalism at the site. The statue has been missing from Fitzroy's Edinburgh Gardens since January 2024, when it was last vandalised. It was toppled and graffitied on the Australia Day long weekend, and is currently in council storage, The Guardian reported. It would cost $15,000 to repair the memorial and put it back on site, according to a costing report. The council said this cost was not justifiable. More than $100,000 has been spent over the past 25 years to maintain the statue. The report described the statue as of 'little or no significance'. It stated the site was 'contentious within the community and Cook is a contested figure in relation to First Peoples'. Speaking on Wednesday, Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said she was 'disappointed' the City of Yarra had been forced to make the decision. 'I think we have seen enough … we have seen enough division,' Ms Allan said. 'It is disappointing if Yarra have made the decision based on those reasons (Cook being a contentious figure). 'When times are tough … we have an obligation to work harder to bring people together, not use platforms like this to divide, but to use them to make sure we are building social cohesion.' Yarra City Council Mayor Stephen Jolly labelled the decision a 'boring economic issue' and denied caving to vandals. '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 just be damaged again,' he said. 'It would be ongoing … how can we justify that?' The memorial has been vandalised several times since 2018. In 2020 it was spray-painted with 'shame' and 'remove this'. A similar statue of Captain Cook was hacked off in St Kilda last year. The council will explore an 'appropriate institution to take ownership' of the monument.
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.
