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, dan 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.