Statue of James Cook (Victoria, British Columbia)

Last updated
Statue of James Cook
Captain Cook Memorial, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.jpg
The statue in 2018
Statue of James Cook (Victoria, British Columbia)
ArtistDerek and Patricia Freeborn, after John Tweed
Year1976 (after an original of 1912)
Medium Fibreglass
Location Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Coordinates 48°25′18″N123°22′08″W / 48.42174°N 123.36880°W / 48.42174; -123.36880

A statue of Captain James Cook stood in Victoria, British Columbia, from 1976 until 2021, when it was toppled in a protest. It was a fibreglass [1] copy of a bronze statue of 1912 by John Tweed in Whitby, Yorkshire, England. [2] The Victoria Environmental Enhancement Foundation commissioned the work from Derek and Patricia Freeborn [3] to mark the 200th anniversary of Cook's departure on his third voyage in 1776. The statue was unveiled on July 12, 1976, by William Richards Bennett, Premier of British Columbia. It stood on the Causeway, facing the Fairmont Empress hotel, with its back to the Inner Harbour. [1]

Contents

The statue was smeared with red paint in August 2020. On the night of July 1 (Canada Day), 2021, it was broken at the knee and ankle and thrown in the Inner Harbour; [4] its pedestal was covered in red handprints. A makeshift statue of a red dress, commemorating missing and murdered Indigenous women, was put up in its place. [5] The following morning a totem pole in Malahat (30km away) was set on fire, apparently in retaliation for the toppling of the statue. [4]

Following the toppling and vandalism of the statue, Ian Robertson, the CEO of the Greater Victoria Harbor Authority, announced that the statue would not return and the pedestal would be removed. Robertson stated that the statue "was significantly destroyed and beyond repair”. [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Cook</span> British explorer, cartographer and naval officer (1728–1779)

Captain James Cook was a British explorer, cartographer and naval officer famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean and to New Zealand and Australia in particular. He made detailed maps of Newfoundland prior to making three voyages to the Pacific, during which he achieved the first recorded European contact with the eastern coastline of Australia and the Hawaiian Islands and the first recorded circumnavigation of New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vancouver Island</span> Largest island in British Columbia, Canada

Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is 456 km (283 mi) in length, 100 km (62 mi) in width at its widest point, and 32,100 km2 (12,400 sq mi) in total area, while 31,285 km2 (12,079 sq mi) are of land. The island is the largest by area and the most populous along the west coasts of the Americas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Totem pole</span> Monumental carvings by Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest

Totem poles are monumental carvings found in western Canada and the northwestern United States. They are a type of Northwest Coast art, consisting of poles, posts or pillars, carved with symbols or figures. They are usually made from large trees, mostly western red cedar, by First Nations and Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast including northern Northwest Coast Haida, Tlingit, and Tsimshian communities in Southeast Alaska and British Columbia, Kwakwaka'wakw and Nuu-chah-nulth communities in southern British Columbia, and the Coast Salish communities in Washington and British Columbia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whitby</span> Coastal town in North Yorkshire, England

Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is on the Yorkshire Coast at the mouth of the River Esk. It has a maritime, mineral and tourist economy. The fishing port emerged during the Middle Ages, supporting important herring and whaling fleets, and was where Captain Cook learned seamanship and, coincidentally, where his first vessel to explore the southern ocean, HMS Endeavour, was built. Jet and alum were mined locally, and Whitby jet, which was mined by the Romans and Victorians, became fashionable during the 19th century.

HMS <i>Endeavour</i> 18th-century Royal Navy research vessel

HMS Endeavour was a British Royal Navy research vessel that Lieutenant James Cook commanded to Tahiti, New Zealand and Australia on his first voyage of discovery from 1768 to 1771.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duncan, British Columbia</span> City in British Columbia, Canada

Duncan is a city on southern Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It is the smallest city by area in Canada. It was incorporated in 1912.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Columbia Parliament Buildings</span> Government buildings in Victoria, British Columbia

The British Columbia Parliament Buildings are in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, and are home to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Staithes</span> Village in North Yorkshire, England

Staithes is a village in North Yorkshire, England. Easington and Roxby Becks, which run into Staithes Beck, form the border between the unitary authorities of North Yorkshire and Redcar and Cleveland. The area located on the Redcar and Cleveland side is called Cowbar. Formerly a hub for fishing and mining, Staithes is now a tourist destination in the North York Moors National Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brockton Point</span>

Brockton Point is a headland off the Downtown Peninsula of Vancouver, on the north side of Coal Harbour. Named after Francis Brockton, it is the most easterly part of Stanley Park and is home to a 100-year-old lighthouse and several hand-carved totem poles made in British Columbia. Like the rest of Stanley Park coastline, Brockton Point is lined by the Vancouver Seawall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mungo Martin</span> Kwakwakawakw artist (1879–1962)

Chief Mungo Martin or Nakapenkem, Datsa, was an important figure in Northwest Coast style art, specifically that of the Kwakwaka'wakw Aboriginal people who live in the area of British Columbia and Vancouver Island. He was a major contributor to Kwakwaka'wakw art, especially in the realm of wood sculpture and painting. He was also known as a singer and songwriter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Hunt (artist)</span> Kwakwakawakw woodcarver, artist (1923–1985)

Henry Hunt was a First Nations woodcarver and artist from the Kwakwaka'wakw people of coastal British Columbia. He carved a number of totem poles which are on public display in Canada and internationally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victoria Harbour (British Columbia)</span> Port in Canada

Victoria Harbour is a harbour, seaport, and seaplane airport in the Canadian city of Victoria, British Columbia. It serves as a cruise ship and ferry destination for tourists and visitors to the city and Vancouver Island. It is both a port of entry and an airport of entry for general aviation. Historically it was a shipbuilding and commercial fishing centre. While the Inner Harbour is fully within the City of Victoria, separating the city's downtown on its east side from the Victoria West neighbourhood, the Upper Harbour serves as the boundary between the City of Victoria and the district municipality of Esquimalt. The inner reaches are also bordered by the district of Saanich and the town of View Royal. Victoria is a federal "public harbour" as defined by Transport Canada. Several port facilities in the harbour are overseen and developed by the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority, however the harbour master's position is with Transport Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statue of Queen Victoria (Winnipeg)</span> Public sculpture by George Frampton

A statue of Queen Victoria formerly stood on the grounds of the Manitoba Legislative Building in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hofgaard Park, Waimea, Kauai</span>

Hofgaard Park is a narrow park between Kaumuali'i Highway and Waimea Road in the town of Waimea. The park was named after Judge Christopher Blom Hofgaard who was a resident in Waimea. It features a statue of Captain Cook, which is a replica of an original statue in Whitby, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statue of John Deighton</span> Statue previously in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

A statue of John Deighton was commissioned in 1970, and was sculpted by Vern Simpson. Its location moved to various spots in Vancouver's Gastown neighborhood, in British Columbia, Canada. It was finally installed at a spot near where Deighton had opened the Globe Saloon in 1867. On February 14, 2022, the statue was toppled by protesters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statue of James Cook (Anchorage, Alaska)</span> Statue in Anchorage, Alaska, U.S.

The Captain Cook Monument is a life-size bronze statue of Captain James Cook installed in Anchorage, Alaska's Resolution Park.

Tim Paul is a member of the Hesquiaht tribe from the Nuu-Chah-Nulth first nation. He is a master carver from Esperanza Inlet British Columbia. He was the senior carver at the Royal British Columbia Museum until 1992 when he left to oversee an indigenous education program for the Port Alberni school board on Vancouver Island.

A number of monuments and memorials in Canada were removed or destroyed as a result of protests and riots between 2020 and 2022. These included six sculptures of Sir John A. Macdonald, the first prime minister of Canada, three of other figures connected to the Canadian Indian residential school system, two of Canadian monarchs, one of the British explorer Captain James Cook and one of John Deighton, a bar-owner whose nickname inspired the name of Vancouver's Gastown district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statue of James Cook, Hyde Park</span> 1879 statue by Thomas Woolner in Sydney, Australia

A bronze statue of the British explorer Captain James Cook stands in Hyde Park, Sydney, Australia. Designed by Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood sculptor Thomas Woolner and unveiled in 1879, the statue is larger than life and depicts Cook holding a telescope in his left hand with his right hand extended towards the sky.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statue of James Cook, St Kilda</span> Statue in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

A statue of James Cook, is located in the Royal Yacht Squadron Catani Gardens, St Kilda, Victoria, Australia. It was erected in 1914. It was removed from its plinth in an act of vandalism in 2024, on the eve of Australia Day.

References

  1. 1 2 "Inner Harbour, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada". Captain Cook Society. Archived from the original on August 26, 2021. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
  2. "West Cliff, Whitby, North Yorkshire, England, UK". Captain Cook Society. Archived from the original on August 26, 2021. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
  3. "Captain James Cook". LandMarks Public Art. Capital Regional District. 21 August 2018. Archived from the original on August 26, 2021. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
  4. 1 2 Dickson, Courtney (July 2, 2021). "Protesters toss statue of explorer James Cook into Victoria harbour; totem pole later burned". CBC News. Archived from the original on July 3, 2021. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  5. Lambert, Steve (July 2, 2021). "Fête du Canada: Des statues renversées par des manifestants dans plusieurs villes". La Presse (in French). Canadian Press. Archived from the original on July 2, 2021. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  6. "Captain Cook statue will not return to Victoria's Inner Harbour".