The Mayor of Melbourne’s Yarra City Council says the decision to remove a memorial to Captain James Cook from Fitzroy’s Edinburgh Gardens is just a “boring economic issue” and not based on any particular ideology.
Mayor Stephen Jolly made the comments as the council announced it would not replace the monument, which has been the subject of ongoing vandalism.
The memorial dedicated to the 18th-century British explorer is one of numerous colonial-era statues across Australia that have been repeatedly targeted by individuals objecting to the country’s colonisation by Europeans.
In 1770, it was Captain James Cook who charted Australia’s eastern coastline, ultimately marking Sydney as the continent’s first British colony.
But Mayor Jolly says the decision not to return the structure to its well-known location was made because it was costing $15,000 a time to repair it.
“I’m not in favour of demolishing statues of people in the past, even problematic ones, but don’t think if we put it back up, it wouldn’t be just damaged again,” he said.
“It would be ongoing—how can we justify that?”
Yarra City Council said considerations were made for additional lighting or surveillance to act as a deterrent but were ultimately abandoned due to ongoing cost estimates.
“Yarra City Council has determined not to return the Captain Cook Memorial to Fitzroy’s Edinburgh Gardens, citing the Memorial’s condition, structural integrity, and ongoing costs associated with vandalism,” the council said in a statement.
Opposition Leader Warns Against Erasing History
Victorian Opposition Leader Brad Battin said authorities needed to be mindful of removing historic monuments.“If you start to remove the history of our state and our country because of activists, then you’re actually giving in to those that are campaigning against it,” he said.
“This is part of our history. It’s a really important part for the next generation to learn more about it.”
