New Cook memorial for colonial landing anniversary in Oz
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Sydney: The Australian Government is planning a new monument to commemorate the April 29 anniversary of the day that British explorer Lieutenant James Cook made landfall on the continent for the first time in 1770.
The feature is to be built at the Botany Bay landing site where crew members of the British ship Endeavour first met Aboriginal people, changing the course of the nation’s history, in time for the 250th anniversary, in 2020.
Not everyone is happy about the Cook memorial in the Pacific nation which has seen recent conflict over whether commemorating the English colonialists is offensive to the country’s indigenous people.
Australia’s Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and treasurer Scott Morrison stressed that the monument would be inclusive as they launched the memorial’s plan for community consultation on Saturday, saying the site marked a meeting of two cultures.
“This was the first encounter between Europeans and Aboriginal Australians here on the East Coast,” Turnbull said.
“What this offers us is the opportunity to show the view from the ship and the view from the shore.”
Pastor Ray Minniecon, an Aboriginal activist who has helped to organise “Invasion Day” protests on Australia Day, said it was upsetting.
“It’s still an invasion and it’s still an unwanted invasion,” he said by telephone on Sunday Cook, best known by his later title as Captain Cook, claimed Australia as a British territory on Aug. 22, 1770, at Possession Island. British colonisation brought Australia into the modern world.
Not everyone is happy about the memorial in the country, which has seen recent conflict over whether commemorating the English colonialists is offensive to the country’s indigenous people. PM Malcolm Turnbull stresses that the site marked a meeting of two cultures