The famous statue of Captain James Cook with an arm raised in a position that some liken to a Nazi salute has been removed from a main street in Cairns.
The colossal artwork Cook has loomed large over the north Queensland city for nearly five decades will be missed by some … but not by many others.
The Cairns Post reports that dozens of people gathered to watch as the 10-tonne effigy of the European explorer be cut free from its concrete columns. It was then lowered by a 250-tonne crane onto the back of a Cairns Heavy Haulage truck.
The statue was bought by demolition contractor Martin Anton for the token sum of $1 but the removal process would have cost him thousands of dollars.
While there was some uncertainty about the structural integrity of the statue, it did eventually come down in one piece.
The now-removed Captain will be examined by structural engineers and restored to his former glory. Mr Anton said he planned to re-erect Captain Cook at a site to be determined.
The way it was … the Captain Cook statue before it was taken down. PIC: ABC / Holly Sheridan
At the height of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, a petition calling for the removal of the statue garnered 19,435 signatures.
Petitioner Emma Hollingsworth described it as “a symbol of colonialism and genocide. It’s a slap in the face to all Indigenous people”.
Across the highway, Captain Cook’s Diner owner, Brian Voss, told the Cairns Post he was disappointed to see the 9.7m-tall behemoth gone.
“It’s been such an icon for Cairns for such a long time and obviously the shop’s name relates to it and the Captain Cook Highway,” he said. “We got a little eight-foot replica done … I put that on the top of the roof yesterday, just as our way of remembering the statue.”
I’m a big supporter of Captain James Cook, but I don’t think it’s a particularly good statue or portrays his courage, values, or achievements very well. Still if the locals like it.
Another Woke decision to eliminate our historic heritage.
I’m with you on this, ‘sort off’ ‘sort of not’. I understand that it represents colonisation for the indigenous peoples, but we can’t change the past and like it or not Captain Cook is part of Australia’s history and always will be. If the statue disappears altogether isn’t that like denying the past both good and bad. And I know from personal experience the only way to move on from the bad stuff is to acknowledge the past, except it, learn from it and move forward, because you can’t change it.
Having said all that if I had to look at a statue, placed in a position of pride (just because the person was famous) of the person who destroyed my family I would find it harder to ‘move on’.
“destroyed my family”? Wow!
When ever I saw the statue of James Cook I knew that I was in Cains. James was the Great explorer who mapped the East cost of the Great Southen Land, and brought it to the attention of the British. If not for him Australia might now be under French Rule, eating snail’s and things like that.
The fact is, like it or not, every Country on Earth is and has been lived in by the strongest nation that could either defend it, or had allies that would. Australia is no different, I England did not occupy it, France, Spain, The Dutch, or in modern times, the Japanese.
this has been the case since BC and is still happening today, eg., RUSSIA.
I am not saying that I agree that’s how it should be, but in reality, that’s ‘How it is’.
yum , love snails cooked correctly
Such a shame that Australia’s history is being taken away and hidden. It’s history, it cannot be erased. The statue represents a great explorer and should remain.
Who decided it was controversial, it was standing for 50 years and nobody complained but then the lefties come along and guess what it is deemed controversial and racist . He is part of our history whether people like it or not. When did the ‘Gray Nomads ‘ become left leaning.
reporting and leaning are two separate things , surely this is nothing but reporting
James Cook was perhaps the world’s greatest explorer. I don’t think that he deserves any serious negative ire. I guess the ceremony on Possession Island doesn’t sit well in our modern Australia. The irony is that he was killed and eaten by indigenous people in the north Pacific trying to repossess a stolen boat.
Having said that, Australia is finally coming to terms with the tragedy of colonisation and the devastation and dispossession of peoples whose culture, languages, livelihoods, families and health were all but destroyed. Colonists even removed the names of places known for tens of thousands of years and replaced them in an instant with names from the opposite side of the world. I have a personal belief that we owe a lot of our national character and even our ANZAC spirit to the cultural influences learned from the original Australians and this unique land.
Just out of interest – he was Lieutenant Cook at the time and it wasn’t a very “pretty” statue of him anyway.
Captain Cook is Australian history and was in no way anything like a Hitler or mass murderer but simply an explorer, the fact that he was part of the British Empire that invaded the country is also a huge part of our history. We do not want the American type of ignorance to slavery and the native Indian treatment, our country has accepted what happened in the past as wrong and we have moved on, or so I thought, when will the elimination of historic facts stop, do we remove everything British from our past or anything German or Japanese from our country because they killed Australians during the war?
What a pity to take this statue down and pleased a local wants to re erect it . DO WE DELETE ALL OUR HISTORY??. Yes things were done 2 centuries ago plus add our recent history of taking children, that we now know was terrible and wrong BUT that was the way life was. Our 1st NATION PEOPLE were treated apallingly by the british and we need to be recognising this and teaching our children about our history and include the way convicts were brutally treated as well.
Surrendering to the damn WOKE brigade … what a damn disgrace‼️‼️ Cook is an integral part of Australia’s History … never was considered by many AUSTRALIANS to be a symbol of “colonialism” but recognition of one of the worlds GREATEST NAVIGATORS.
SHAME on those who decided on this “removal” … I hope and wish your “rule” comes to an abrupt end … SOON‼️‼️
i agree
Stupid, stupid, stupid!
Those that do not study history are doomed to repeat it.
Yes a sad day, was a true icon from the area I Was a Brisbanite and remembered it fondly from a child. It represented the far north, our heritage and a true ICON.
A Sad day for Australia
I can only hope that the new owner places it somewhere prominent.