THOUSANDS SIGN PETITION CALLING FOR COOK STATUE TO STAND DOWN

Call for Cook to go as JCU stands by name

JAMES Cook University has stood by its name as – separately – thousands of people signed a petition calling for a statue of the famous explorer in Cairns to be torn down.

Brisbane woman Emma Hollingsworth has launched the #CaptainCrook e-petition calling for the giant Captain James Cook on Sheridan St to be removed.

“Since 1972, the James Cook statue on Sheridan St has stood as a symbol of colonialism and genocide,” she said.

“It’s a slap in the face to all indigenous people.

“For us it represents dispossession, forced removal, slavery, genocide, stolen land and loss of culture, among many other things.

“I am calling on Cairns Regional Council and Cairns Mayor Mr Bob Manning to take action today and remove this statue.

“This would be a huge step forward in uniting the community and honouring our First Nations people.”

The figure is not owned by Cairns Regional Council and it is unlikely the local government would have any power to remove it for aesthetic, political or cultural reasons alone.

Tradies Bar owner Graham Johnston, who owns the statue, told the Cairns Post he had no intention of demolishing the statue – a process he believed would be both pointless and expensive.

There has been talk about some of Mr Johnston’s property – including the part that houses the towering figure – being acquired to allow the Cairns University Hospital development to go ahead.

Other parties may also be interested in the prime piece of inner-city real estate.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison – a famous Captain Cook enthusiast – in 2017 said he hoped the statue could be saved if any development went ahead.

“I’ve seen quite a lot of Cook statues in my time, and I’ve never seen one quite like that,” he said. “I would hope they could sort something out.

“Hopefully it isn’t too difficult.”

The petition had garnered more than 7000 supporters – a number still rapidly climbing yesterday – over two days.

“We can learn Australian history in books. There are no statues of Hitler in Germany yet we still were taught the horrible things he did without statues. Tear it down,” wrote one supporter.

Another contended: “Do I really need to explain why this Captain Cook doing what appears to be a Nazi salute needs to be torn down?”

Meanwhile, James Cook University had no intention of changing its name but stressed its commitment to reconciliation and cultural respect.

“We recognise that Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples continue to face disadvantages as well as prejudice and racism,” a JCU spokesman said.

The university got its name in 1970 during the bicentenary of Captain Cook’s landing on the Australian continent.