‘Incredibly significant’ 250th anniversary of Captain Cook’s landing
Today is the 250th anniversary of Captain James Cook’s arrival on the Australian mainland.
The current pandemic has forced the cancellation of events to mark the day.
Cook reached the southeastern coast of Australia on April 19 1770, and in doing so his expedition became the first recorded Europeans to have encountered its eastern coastline.
On April 29, Cook and crew made their first landfall on the mainland.
Australian president of the Captain Cook Society Mal Nicholson told Alan Jones this was an “incredibly significant” moment for all Australians.
“It’s more than equivalent of going to the south pole its the equivalent of going to the dark side of the moon.
“Unfortunately people try to put 21st-century mores on the people of the 18th century.
“So now Cook, despite all his achievements, they don’t look at it as anything to do with 1770, they just like to use it as somewhere to hang their protests.”
Click PLAY below to hear the full interview
NSW Attorney-General Mark Speakman told Alan Jones there are many interpretations of our history.
“I think Cook is often aligned as some kind of ogre and a person he wasn’t.
“But if you’re telling the story of this completely important event 250 years ago today you’ve got to have the view from the ship and from the shore.
“I think people of goodwill are open-minded enough and big enough to tell the story of Australia from many angles.”
Click PLAY below to hear the full interview
Historian Geoffrey Blainey has shared the story of Cook’s landing.
Click PLAY below to hear the full interview
Image: National Maritime Museum, UK