New Zealand was named almost by historical accident, and there have been various versions used in the past. But a complete change would still need greater public support.
Monuments are testaments to how a society wants to remember. Now is the time to ask which monuments can withstand introspection. Artists are opening those conversations – sometimes hilariously.
Sunanda Creagh, The Conversation; Phoebe Roth, The Conversation, and Sophia Morris, The Conversation
250 years since Captain Cook landed in Australia, it’s time to acknowledge the violence of first encounters
The Conversation, CC BY63 MB(download)
The way Australia has commemorated Cook's arrival has changed over time – from military displays in 1870 to waning interest in Cook in the 1950s, followed by the fever pitch celebrations of 1970.
New Zealand’s commemorations of James Cook’s arrival 250 years ago were least about the British explorer himself, but instead focused on Polynesian voyaging heritage and encounters with Māori.
Feature artwork: Great Spirit and Rainbow Serpent – Jeffrey Samuels (used with permission, no re-use)
Explore Cook’s journey through the Pacific, the orders that brought him in search of the ‘Great Southern Land’ and the impact of his arrival in our new interactive.
Uncle Fred Deeral as little old man in the film The Message, by Zakpage, to be shown at the National Museum of Australia in April. Nik Lachajczak of Zakpage
An honest reckoning with Captain Cook’s legacy won’t heal things overnight. But it’s a start
The Conversation41.4 MB(download)
The impact of 1770 has never eased for Aboriginal people. It was a collision of catastrophic proportions.
A picture titled ‘Captain Cook taking possession of the Australian continent on behalf of the British crown, AD 1770’. Drawn and engraved by Samuel Calvert from an historical painting by Gilfillan in the possession of the Royal Society of Victoria.
Trove/National Library of Australia
Botany was an integral feature of Britain’s colonial and imperial ambitions.
Kath Walker (Oodgeroo Noonuccal) with Doug Nicholls on Frenchman’s Beach, La Perouse, on April 29 1970. During the Cook bicentenary protest, activists declared a day of mourning for Aboriginal nations.
Image from the Tribune collection from the 1970 Cook Bi-centenary protest, to be featured in the State Library of NSW's upcoming exhibition 'Eight Days in Gamay.'
Re-enactments of James Cook’s arrival in Australia have served only to gloss over the violence of his interactions with Indigenous people and elevate Australia’s imperial and British connections.
A scene from the Zakpage film The Message, commissioned by the National Museum of Australia. Nik Lachajczak of Zakpage,
Every European ship that voyaged the Pacific was, in the first instance, a floating fortress, an independent command that could send out small shore parties or to concentrate firepower as needed.
Joseph Banks portrait by Joshua Reynolds (circa 1771-1773).
National Portrait Gallery
On one of the world’s most remote islands, a species of duck has learned to scavenge on dead seals.
The Morrison government has committed $50million to celebrate next year’s 250th anniversary of Cook’s landing at Kurnell on April 29, 1770.
AAP/Marc McCormack
The government’s investment in a celebration of 250 years since James Cook’s voyage to and along Australia, if not done properly, will further inflame the history wars in Australia.
Captain James Cook sailed the Endeavour off New Zealand’s east coast in 1769.
from Wikimedia Commons