For more than half a century, an iconic statue of Captain James Cook has stood proudly and prominently in Cairns … but he’s now on the move.
The land on which the eight-metre concrete colossus stands has been bought by the James Cook University … and the sometimes controversial figure was considered surplus to requirements.
Preparations are now underway to remove the statue, and transport it to a property in Mount Molloy where its new owner plans to restore it ‘to its former glory’.
That new owner is Martin Anton, who owns a demolition company. He says the statue will be repaired, repainted and restored … assuming it can be safely removed.
“It’s been standing on Sheridan Street for 50 years, and regrettably we don’t have reliable, detailed information on its engineering and construction,” he told the Cairns Post. “Almost anything could happen when we try to move the statue … is it hollow or solid core filled?
Mr Anton said the statue would be ‘forensically examined by structural engineers’ before it makes the 102-kilometre trip to Mount Molloy, north west of Cairns.
“What I do know is that we will do our utmost to carefully move the statue off site, with the intention of restoring it to its former glory,” he said. “”I just didn’t want it bulldozed by somebody.”
Mr Anton said he would like to return the statue to a public space if its integrity allowed and he could find a suitable location, but at this stage he had no concrete plans.
Some people say the statue appears to be doing a ‘Nazi salute’ . PIC: Holly Sheridan / ABC
In recent years, there have been calls for the statue to be removed or demolished and it has attracted political protests. Beyond simply the divisive figure Captain Cook represented and his part in Australia’s colonial history, petitioners argued that it was a slap in the face to have such a large statue of someone who appeared to be doing a ‘Nazi salute’.
Mr Anton told the ABC he had more innocent memories of the statue from when it was erected in 1972.
“All the kids that I knew that lived in Mareeba and in all the outlying areas, they always knew they were in Cairns when they saw Captain Cook waving at them,” he said.
In a statement, James Cook University’s Cairns campus director David Craig said the removal of the ageing statue would pave the way for the university’s planned expansion. He said the University received no proposals that involved relocating the statue within Cairns.
“Thank you to everyone who has taken part in the often passionate discussion over the statue’s future,” he said. “We recognise there’s a range of strongly held views and we have sought an outcome that is respectful of those differences.”
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What is the world coming to? All these statues are part of our history. History cannot be changed and we can learn from it.
Very sad to see such an icon disappear! I do hope restoration can be achieved and a new home found!
No one trying to change history. It’s just that it needed to be moved, to enable development of the land. Unlike statues, which are cast in metal, this is made from made of concrete, was put up as a marketing sign, and isn’t a monument to Cpt Cook.
If it isn’t changing history then why is it described as a controversial figure?
Ask a First Nations representative. You might get the education you didn’t get at school regarding the invasion and theft of a nation followed by large scale genocide. Took the High Court 200 years to declare this land was owned and occupied before 1788 in the historic Mabo decision.
Cook was 1770, he made no claim on Australia merely visited and went home, you might know your indigenous history but know nothing about this clearly.
Because it looks like it is making the Nazi salute……. did you even read the article?
Good it’s being saved, but an absolute joke and waste by an iconic university which shares the name that it’s being moved
Why not put the statue in the gardens along the water front?
The statue has been removed in a labor town (I must admit, my uncle was a red hot Cairns leftie). Have you noticed that Captain Cook’s ship has also been removed (without consultation with the alumni) from James Cook University’s crest? Yes, it was a done during a labor-appointed, undeserving, female vice chancellor’s term of office. I wonder when they will change the name of the uni. The ship was replaced by a Tores Strait Islander mask. TI islanders were the ones who gouged the eyes out of caucasians ship wreck victims while they were still alive, ate them raw, killed the victims and cooked and ate them. They then kept the skulls as trophies and in time used them as currency to buy more large war cannoes. Captain Bight’s fleet was attacked by them when he returned in search of the Bounty and its mutineers. He fired a deck cannon and scared them off.
Why is it controversial? Here we go again, let’s re-write history. My father once said if you don’t know your history then you can’t know your future.
It was only deemed divisive by half educated woke lefties who have too much time on their hands. It is and was always like the big banana or peanut to promote Cairns as a tourist destination.
A Nazi salute is not half baked lefties.
now we are seeing Nazi salutes in statues some people should get a life
Capt. Cook is part of our history
This is not a political action so why try to make it so, strikes of desperation and the constant need to discredit Labor by Lib/Nat supporters, maybe you would like to replace with a statue of your heroes Scomo or Joyce.
The professional mind minders at it again.
The ironic thing is that JCU (James Cook University) bought the land and oh guess what..we dont need the 50 yr old statue as it likely represents colonial oppression, invasion thoughts etc etc. Yet the same fine body of JCU is happy to keep trading and educating under James Cook’s name.
I bet that will change in time too.
Right decision, wrong reason. This statue is ugly kitsch without any artistic merit.
Unfortunately the woke reason for its removal is a disgrace. Cook was one of the greatest navigators of his era and his three voyages of discovery gave the world its first complete picture of the world’s continents and many of its islands.
The decision to occupy New South Wales as a convict colony was made several years after Cook’s death.
Unfortunately due to badly taught (if taught at all) Australian History in our schools many people associate Cook with commanding the first fleet rather than Admiral Arthur Phillip.