15 January 2026

Im getting in some shots before he’s attacked again – this is the statue of Captain Cook put up in 1914 (pic 5 is the unveiling). It’s an extra casting of an original of 1912 by sculptor John Tweed put up in Whitby in Yorkshire, the place where Cook first took to the sea. It commemorates his first voyage, the one where his ship was the first from Europe to sight (and map) the east coast of Australia. The monument lists the crew on the back.

It was a donation by Andrew Stenhouse, who lived nearby at 362 Beaconsfield Parade – in fact its been moved, it was originally virtually opposite his house in the Catani Gardens ! That I posted a week ago (rear right in pic 6). It didn’t get to this spot near the bottom of the pier until after the 1960s, maybe the 80s ? Before that it was a palm tree. It’s ended up in a sort of cluster of monuments; there’s a very nice pylon with a little ship on top, looks c1910 but I couldn’t find anything on it – except that it was closer to the road originally. And there’s also a WW1 memorial, in the form of a cenotaph, unveiled in 1925- it’s right on the road so gets a bit lost in the traffic.

The Cook statue has been attacked 5 times, 2018 (pink), 2019 (a sign), 2022 (red) and last year it was cut down at the ankles ! Port Phillip Council voted to repair and not discuss, don’t know when it got put back. There’s another statue of Cook next to his cottage in the Fitzroy Gardens made in 1974 which also cut down in Feb 24, repaired just in time to be attacked again last year, I assume it’s still there. And there was a plaque in the Edinburg Gardens in Fitzroy that was attacked last year and Yarra Council voted to just remove it.

I understand the passions that lead to these acts, and that the statues act as a focus, but as an historian, I know that Cook just thought the way nearly everyone thought in the 1780s. Namely that the British Empire was the best and so it was a good thing to colonise as many places as possible. Didn’t work out great for Cook though, he was killed by the Hawaiians after causing trouble. Maybe we could shroud the statue on purpose on Australia Day, or add a statue of the Hawaiians? Last 6 pics from various news pages.

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