Controversial Captain James Cook sculptures should be demolished unless the British explorer’s bad characteristics are prominently exhibited alongside them, according to a professor.
Statues of historical personalities strewn over Australia, according to public land expert David Gabriel-Jones, must be portrayed in historical context.
John Batman and John Pascoe Fawkner, both Melbourne pioneers, were among them, as was Redmond Barry, the judge who sentenced Ned Kelly to death.
He proposed that plaques be affixed to the monuments to highlight their bad characteristics and provide a detailed description of their deeds, or that they be removed if they were not.
Mr Gabriel-Jones questioned why a Captain Cook statue was placed in St Kilda, telling the Herald Sun, “He never came to St Kilda or anywhere near there.”
‘I wish there was a way to use that statue as a springboard for a discussion of all the complications that come with Cook’s commemoration,’ he added.
Mr Gabriel-Jones also expressed worry over a memorial to John Pascoe Fawkner, an early Australian pioneer, businessman, and politician.
He claimed that while Fawkner was a “great hero” who should be “revered and cherished,” he was also “viciously anti-Chinese [and] a total bigot.”
Fawkner Park, according to the public land expert, should be named after the pioneer, but it should also serve as a history lesson on the issues that come with his legacy.
Mr. Gabriel-Jones, founder and principal of The Public Land Consultancy, believes that writing “a dozen words on a brass plaque” is insufficient.
He also cited the Redmond Barry forecourt statue at the State Library, a colonial judge most known for ordering the execution of Ned Kelly.
‘His flaws, which were numerous, were all related to misogyny and women. But again, he did defend a handful of Aboriginal people accused of murder,’ he added.
Mr. Gabriel-Jones stated that he supports leaving the sculptures alone, but with special notices that provide full context to the individual’s history.
‘Knock ’em down if it turns out to be impossible,’ he remarked.
The Captain Cook statue was vandalized earlier this year, just in time for Australia Day celebrations, with the 7m high figure painted in vivid red paint.
The monument in St Kilda, Melbourne’s southeast, was painted over and protest posters were strewn around it.
‘Why should Australia Day be abolished?’ one asks.
‘So-called Australia is established on the genocide of Aboriginal peoples,’ it continues.
The vandals splattered paint all over the statue, which stands roughly 5m tall and is coated from head to toe, before also painting the plinth.
Many of the protest signs were also splattered with paint as a result of the attack.
‘It’s terrible that somebody have chosen to do this,’ said Port Phillip Mayor Marcus Pearl of the attack.