Perspectives on Cook

A perspective is a person’s point of view, the position from which they see and understand events going on around them. Studying historical differences in perspective, and consequent conflict, can help us understand the roots of conflict in the past and offer signposts towards possible resolution of that conflict. People, groups and historians can disagree markedly about past events, their causes and effects. There are various reasons for these differences in perspectives. - ACARA

Captain Cook presented wearing an eye patch, and with a parrot on his shoulder.

Daniel Boyd, 'Captain No Beard', 2005. This artwork depicts Captain James Cook as a pirate, challenging the official history of white exploration and settlement by suggesting that one person’s explorer is another person’s pirate. | National Gallery of Australia

Lieutenant James Cook

In Australian history, Captain Cook is a central figure. There are many perspectives on Cook, ranging from seeing him as a villainous pirate who plundered the various nations he visited on his voyages to seeing him as an outstanding navigator and cartographer who skilfully followed the orders issued to him by the British Admiralty.

Some people hold Cook directly responsible for the dispossession and mistreatment of Aboriginal Australians. Ironically, while he was responsible for claiming the east coast of New Holland in the name of the king in 1770, Cook died nine years before the arrival of the first fleet of British ships into Botany Bay in 1788, when the first British colony was established on our continent.

His diaries reveal how he saw himself. He expressed guilt for the deaths of Maoris in New Zealand and it was only with a degree of reluctance that he fired his musket at the two Gweagal men during their first encounter at Kamay Botany Bay. Cook's diaries also show him to have been a highly strategic and effective leader who took a great interest in the people he encountered during his voyages.

Examine the various sources and activities below to form your own opinion about Lieutenant James Cook.

Cook's journal

29 April 1770 - excerpt

Sunday 29^th In the ^PM winds southerly and clear weather with which we stood into the bay and ^{Anchor'd under the South shore} about 2 Mile within the entrence in 6 fathoms water, the south point bearing SE and the north point _^^East, Saw as we came in on both points of the bay Several of the natives and afew hutts, ^Men women and children on the south shore abreast of the Ship to which place I went in the boats in hopes of speaking with them accompaned by M^r Banks D^rSolander and Tupia- as we approached the shore they all made off except two Men who seem'd resolved to oppose our landing - as soon as I saw this I orderd the boats to lay upon their oars in order to speake to them but this was to little purpose for neither us nor Tupia could understand one word they said. we then threw them some nails beeds &C^a a shore which they took up and seem'd not ill pleased ~~with~~ in so much that I thout that they beckon'd to us to come a shore but in this we were mistaken for as soon as we put the boat in they again came to oppose us upon which I fired a musket between the two which had no other effect than to make them retire back where bundles of thier darts lay and one of them took up a stone and threw at us which caused my fireing a second Musquet load with small shott and altho' some of the shott struck the man yet it had no other effect than ^to make him lay hold of a _^^{Shield or} target _^^{to defend himself} emmediatly after this we landed which we had no sooner done than they throw'd two darts at us this obliged me to fire a third shott soon after which they both made off, but not in such haste but what we might have taken one, but M^r Banks being of opinion that the darts were poisoned made me cautious how I advanced into the woods - We found here a few Small hutts made of the bark of trees in one of which were four or five small children with whome we left some strings of beeds &C^a a quantity of darts lay about the hutts these we took away with us -

Source: Cook's journal daily entries National Library of Australia

Discussion

What do you think Cook's motives were for choosing to fire the musket each time?
How do you think this action would have made the Gweagal men feel and react?

23 August 1770 - excerpt

"From what I have said of the Natives of New Holland they may appear to some to be the most wretched people upon earth, but in reality they are far more happier than we Europeans; being wholy unacquainted not only with the superfluous but the necessary conveniencies so much sought after in Europe, they are happy in not knowing the use of them. They live in a Tranquillity which is not disturb’d by the Inequality of the Condition" - Cook

This quote not only makes it clear that the east coast of the continent was populated, but also that the population displayed a sense of ‘society and culture’, aspects of which James Cook found admirable.

Activities

What does the quote tell us about Cook's attitude about the Aboriginal people? Why do you think Cook may have had that attitude?
Given that James Cook had written so much about the people he had observed along the east coast, including the above quote, why do you think he claimed the east coast of New Holland for Britain?
Did Cook ask permission to claim this land? One of the secret instructions given to Cook after he left Tahiti was to claim any lands he might find that hadn’t been previously visited by Europeans. If there were people already living there, he had to get their ‘consent’. Does it seem like a sensible expectation that people would consent to their land being claimed for another country?
When James Cook claimed the whole of the east coast of New Holland for Britain, he hadn’t asked for the Aboriginal people’s consent. Why do you think Cook claimed the land without consent? Do you think it would have been possible for him to gain the Aboriginal people's consent?
What are some of the differences (if any) you can imagine would have been the outcome if James Cook had not claimed the east coast of New Holland for Britain? Consider this from different perspectives.
Why do you think that Cook claimed only the eastern coastline of New Holland, rather than the whole continent?

Cook memorialised

Statue of Cook with the words "discovered this territory 1770"

A memorial is an object which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a significant event. There is a statue of Captain Cook located in Sydney's Hyde Park which states that Cook "discovered this territory 1770".

Discussion

What do you think of this statement?
Was Captain Cook the first to discover this continent? If not, who (if anyone) should a memorial focus on as the discoverer, or discoverers?
Do you think that James Cook believed he had discovered anything when the Endeavour sailed along the east coast?
In the context of Australian history, what was James Cook the first to do?

How Captain Cook became a contested national symbolThe federal government will spend nearly $50 million over four years to commemorate Captain Cook's first landing. But some have questioned the spend.

Activity

Read this article from 'The Conversation', 11 May 2018, then write a persuasive piece on whether you agree or disagree that Captain Cook should be a national symbol of Australia.

Cook in art

Cook presented as a robber with a beard. Caption reads: Jim Cook executed for armed robbery by the people of the south pacific feb 14th 1779

Reg Mombassa, 'Jim Cook Mugshot', 2013

'Jim Cook Mugshot'

James Cook has come to symbolise many ideas, both positive and negative. Instead of the familiar portraits of Cook as a thoughtful, assured naval man, Reg Mombassa depicts him as a tough law breaker. The artist presents an alternative perspective to heroic narratives of Cook’s voyages and reflects on the impact of the encounters.

'It was inevitable that an enormous sun bleached barrel of potential wealth that was sparsely inhabited would be grabbed by one or another criminal gang of well armed Europeans. These criminal gangs are called Empires. Cook may have been a decent man, a brave explorer and a relatively progressive sea captain, but he was still a gang member who was ‘executed’ by one of his victims.' - Reg Mombassa

Courtesy of ANMM

Cook stands on the shoreline throwing nails toward the shore. He is looking out toward the ocean

Neil Healey, 'Sower of Nails', 2014

'Sower of Nails'

Neil Healey looks at the idea of exchange as the language of encounter. He presents Cook as a mythical figure who casts nails on the empty shoreline in a gesture reminiscent of Millet’s 19th century painting 'Sower'. Gifts were used as a form of communication by Cook and his crew and a means of accessing the land and its people. However, the Europeans’ trinkets were of little interest to Aboriginal people. Cook casts his offerings with a grand gesture yet he does not look directly into the land or towards the people with whom he wishes to engage. In this way Healey suggests the idea of miscommunication.

'Standing in his own blue reflection, one arm behind his back and poker-faced he casts an offering of nails to the white sand – bright, shiny objects to be used as a first step in building and joining. And because there is no forthcoming offer of a hammer to drive them, they become little more than ornaments. So he casts them to the sands and waits for them to take root. But every individual trinket was ignored - viewed with suspicion – and left untouched. Mingling incongruously with whatever the waves may bring over time.' - Neil Healey

Courtesy of ANMM

Captain Cook's image is overlayed with the words from the children's folklore song Captain Cook chased a chook. There is also an image of a toy chicken in the corner of the image.

Bianca Beetson, 'Advance Australia Fair', 2014

'Advance Australia Fair'

Kabi Kabi artist Bianca Beetson dresses herself as James Cook and refers to the children’s folklore song 'Captain Cook chased a chook', to suggest the Australian larrikin nature and need to parody people in positions of power. She also employs Aboriginal Black/Blak humour which is often used to discuss difficult issues. Her work deals with the cultural and personal impact of Cook’s voyage and what it means to be Australian. The mocking incorporation of 'Advance Australia Fair' is a reference to contentious expressions of nationalism such as the ‘White Australia’ policy and the more recent Cronulla riots. Beetson includes a bunya pine to affirm the Kabi Kabi people’s long term cultural connections to country through the significant bunya gatherings. Beetson’s ‘obsession’ with dressing up is also a homage to her larrikin grandmother who was sent to work as a domestic. When left alone to babysit the station owners’ children she would dress them in her employers’ wives’ clothes and teach them Aboriginal language which she was forbidden to speak.

'As an assimilated fair skinned black woman, the work also makes a statement about living in my skin and comfort and discomfort, not black enough to live in a black world but too black to live in a white world – so creating new characters and identities for ourselves. Dreaming Big and believing we can be anything we want to be. I have become the physicality of reconciliation in Australia.' - Bianca Beetson

Courtesy of ANMM

Activity

View the artworks above and read their description of the artists' views on Cook.
Create your own artwork depicting your interpretation/perspectives of Cook.
Write a short description to accompany your artwork, explaining your decisions while creating it.

Just who WAS James Cook?

Screenshot of the opening of the ABC article, including a clearly inaccurate painting of the event

Setting the story straight

The ABC published What Australians often get wrong about our most (in)famous explorer, Captain Cook, an article by Ben Collins, in April 2020. It questions many of the stories we've been told about James Cook over the years.

Read the article for answers to:

He's the one that discovered Australia, right?
Did Cook claim he discovered Australia?
Was charting the east coast Cook's greatest achievement?
Did Cook steal Australia from its traditional owners?
Did Cook declare terra nullius?
Was Cook even a captain?

Activity

Once you've considered the information in the article:

write your own article about any shifts the article caused in your own understanding of James Cook
prepare a two-minute talk for your family on 'The truth about James Cook'.

Essay analysis

Access John Maynard's critical essay exploring an Indigenous perspective on James Cook.

Activity

Complete the following activities (also listed at the bottom of the website):

Investigate the relationship between the actions of Cook and the Endeavour crew in 1770, and the subsequent British arrival to set up a penal colony in 1788. What is the connection between these events?
Maynard writes that he is an admirer of Cook as a navigator and leader, but is critical of his actions in relation to Aboriginal people. Discuss this type of compartmentalisation of Cook and his story. What are some other points of view? Consider the changed way of life for Aboriginal Australians where ‘settlement’ occurred and the ways this might have contributed to Cook’s ‘historical bogeyman’ status.
As Maynard shows, ‘Lookey, lookey, here comes Cookey’ became a catchcry for the arrival of any form of government representative into an Aboriginal community. Evaluate what this might mean in a community where children were being closely monitored for school attendance. What outcomes might be implied in this phrase?
Cook in 1770 was a man; Cook today exists in the realm of myth. He has been represented in non-Aboriginal stories in myriad ways over time: in novels, art and textbooks, and on film and TV. Cook also exists in many forms in the stories of Aboriginal communities, both those he met and those he did not. Compare and dissect a set of stories, depictions or myths relating to Cook. You might like to compare Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal stories, or stories from two geographically separate Aboriginal communities.
Australia is a vast country and is home to a large number of Aboriginal nations. Consider the fact that each nation has a different cultural and linguistic heritage, and that some nations never encountered Cook directly and may not even have met other Europeans until much later. What impact could this have on achieving a united, national approach to the historiography of Cook and the arrival of Europeans in Australia?

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