1879 statue by Thomas Woolner in Sydney, Australia
A
bronze statue
of the British explorer Captain
James Cook
stands in
Hyde Park
,
Sydney
, Australia. Designed by
Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
sculptor
Thomas Woolner
and unveiled in 1879, the statue is larger than life and depicts Cook holding a telescope in his left hand with his right hand extended towards the sky.
[1]
History
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Inception
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Interest in the construction of a statue of James Cook preceded its creation by over a decade.
[1]
Starting in the 1860s, the
Australia Patriotic Association
held a public appeal for donations to erect a "double life-size bronze and granite" statue of Cook in Sydney's Hyde Park.
[2]
The Cook Statue Fund, launched by the APA at a public meeting at
Victoria Theatre
in Sydney, raised £1,777.
[2]
Construction
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On 27 March 1869,
Prince Alfred
, the second son of
Queen Victoria
, laid the foundation stone during a well-attended gala at Hyde Park.
[2]
Following the ceremony, however, the pedestal remained empty for nine years due to difficulties in raising additional funds; the Cook Statue Committee then asked the premier of
New South Wales
for assistance.
[2]
Once Parliament voted to fund completion of the monument, Thomas Woolner, a fellow of the
Royal Academy in London
who had once lived in Australia, was commissioned for the sculpture.
[2]
In a letter to Woolner dated 26 September 1874,
Colonial Secretary
Sir Henry Parkes
requested the prolific sculptor send a design for the statue along with size and material specifications and a probable timeframe for its creation. Parkes directed that since the ‘position in Hyde Park is a very exposed one…the statue must be of bronze’.
[1]
It was built by Cox & Sons at Thomas Ditton Foundry in
Surrey
.
[3]
In 1878, the statue was briefly displayed opposite London's
Athenaeum Club
prior to being shipped to Sydney. It was described in
The Art Journal
as “unquestionably a work designed with force and spirit that raise it to the character of the sensational”.
[1]
The granite base of the statue was transported from a quarry in
Moruya
, New South Wales, initially by being rolled along a wooden-railed bush tram line, covering six miles and taking three days. It was then transported to Sydney by the 80-ton
schooner
Settler's Friend
. On the second night out, a few miles off
Jervis Bay
, the schooner collided with a 400-ton
barque
headed in the same direction. An axe was used to separate the ships and the
jury-rigged
Settler's Friend
entered
Port Jackson
three days later.
[4]
Dedication
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The statue was dedicated on Tuesday 25 February 1879.
[3]
The day of the statue's unveiling was declared a public holiday. Approximately 12,000 joined the procession to Hyde Park and the unveiling itself was attended by an estimated 60,000 people.
[1]
[From Our Sydney Correspondent]. SYDNEY. 7.30 p.m. The ceremony of unveiling Captain Cook's statue took place today, and was a great success. The procession was composed of marines, volunteers, and friendly societies, and was the largest ever seen in Sydney. The ceremony was witnessed by about 60,000 people. Two hundred children sang the National Anthem. His Excellency the Governor,
Sir Hercules Robinson
, unveiled the statue; and; in doing so, made a speech, in which he gave a narrative of Cook's life, and characterised him as a humane, just, and God-fearing man. He added that it would be well for the youth of Australia to imitate his nobility of character. ?
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate
, 26 February 1879.
[3]
The procession, two miles in length, featured marines, naval, fire & military brigades, associated bodies and thirteen bands. The statue was enshrouded in a
Union Jack
before being unveiled by six soldiers. The
South Australian Advertiser
reported that the unveiling "is acknowledged to have been the most patriotic ceremony which has ever taken place in
New South Wales
." In attendance was "nearly every member" of both houses of
parliament
, Anglican Bishop
Barker
, Catholic Archbishop
Vaughan
and numerous other distinguished persons.
[5]
An electric light placed atop the post office was exhibited on the same night, illuminating the city and the face of Cook's statue, and "sufficient to enable one to read a newspaper two miles away."
[5]
Inscription controversy
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Previous exploration of Australia
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Critics have pointed out that although the inscription states that Cook "discovered this territory" in 1770, in fact, Cook's party landed at
Botany Bay
, several miles to the southwest, and never managed to find
Sydney Harbour
. Although Cook was the first to "claim the land on behalf of Great Britain", he was not the first modern navigator to "discover" Australia. Visits to Australia were recorded as early as 1606, and Portuguese cannons dating back to 1525 have been found on
Carronade Island
on the northwest coast.
[6]
Role of public subscription
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In
The Captain Cook Myth
, author Jillian Robertson argues that the inscription stating that the statue had been "erected by public subscription assisted by a grant from the New South Wales Government" is also misleading. According to Robertson, only one quarter of funding for the statue came from public donations; the rest was covered by the government.
[2]
Architecture
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Thomas Woolner
depicted Cook with a telescope in his left hand and his right hand extended skyward. The statue is larger than Cook was himself.
[1]
In 1931,
The Sydney Morning Herald
noted that his telescope is "at rest":
[7]
Having looked through the telescope, he is satisfied that the
great Southland
is at last found ? he is in the act of proclaiming his great discovery.
The granite base is a single block weighing between fifteen and eighteen tons.
[4]
Inscriptions
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There is an inscription on each side of the statue's plinth, in addition to a plaque on the front side. These read as follows:
[3]
Front inscription
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Captain Cook.
This statue was erected by public subscription assisted by a grant from the New South Wales Government
1879
Plaque
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This plaque marks the site of a previous plaque which disappeared in November 1991 and had the following inscription :
"This tablet was affixed by the Yorkshire Society of NSW as their tribute to the memory of Captain James Cook. 1908"
Councillor
Frank Sartor
Lord Mayor
Sydney City Council
1994
Left inscription
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Born at
Marton
in
Yorkshire
1728
Back inscription
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Discovered
this territory
1770
Right inscription
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Killed
at Owhyee
1779
Gallery
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-
Illustration from 1889
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Statue, circa 1893
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Statue in 1901
-
Statue in 2018
References
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