Cook comes down after 50 years in Cairns. Controversial statue now goes bush
Richard Dinnen - Queensland Editor |
A statue of British seafarer James Cook has been removed from a plinth beside the main street of Cairns, after a long and sometimes controversial debate about its future.
The concrete statue, eight metres tall and weighing ten tonnes, was carefully lifted off its plinth by a local demolition company this morning.
It was laid on its back, supported by some old truck tyres, and is now being prepared for relocation to its new home, understood to be on private property at Mount Molloy, about 100 kilometres northwest of Cairns.
The statue was built in 1972, the same year the demolition company that removed it launched their business.
It dates back to an era when “big” attractions were thought to be powerful tourism drawcards. The Big Pineapple, the Big Banana, the Big Merino. Why not a Big Cook?
It was built to draw attention to the Captain Cook Motel that opened on Sheridan Street in the early 70s, and later became a popular backpacker hostel.
The hostel was demolished some years ago and the site stayed vacant, with an increasingly unwelcome statue standing out the front.
There were petitions to have it removed, and considerable community debate about such a high-profile monument to Australia’s colonial period in an area with a significant Indigenous population.
But there were people who wanted it preserved as a reminder of a time when Cairns was a smaller and quieter place.
In recent years, there have been attempts to find a new home for the statue, including at James Cook University, one of many far north Queensland places named for Cook and characters or episodes in his difficult journey through far north Queensland in 1770.
Over the years, the statue has been repainted to show Cook in various colours of the Royal Navy uniform, and it’s even had ads painted on its back for a nearby tradies bar.
The statue is now in the custody of demolition company owner Martin Anton, who bought it on undisclosed terms.
There’s been no official announcement on where the statue will go after removal work and safety inspections are completed later today.
