27 April
2006 - The Australian Government is funding a
$1 million design competition for a monument to
properly commemorate Cook's landing place, the
Australian Minister for the Environment and Heritage,
Senator Ian Campbell, announced today.
Sailing into Botany Bay aboard
the replica HM Bark Endeavour, Senator Campbell
said the day Lieutenant James Cook (later Captain),
of the British Royal Navy, set foot on Australian
soil in 1770 was a momentous occasion in the formation
of modern Australia and should be better marked
at the site.
“As one of the celebrated monuments
to great events of discovery around the globe,
such as Plymouth Rock, the Kurnell Peninsula has
been neglected. As the symbolic birthplace of
modern Australia it should be celebrated,” Senator
Campbell said.
“Regrettably none of the existing
11 small and uninspiring plaques and plinths marking
the place do it justice, which is why the Australian
Government is funding a competition to allow members
of the public to design a monument that commemorates
all that Cook’s landing represents.”
“Revered as one of the world’s
greatest ocean explorers and navigators, Cook’s
landing in April 1770 was to set a course of events
in motion that have helped shape our nation.
“This is why we should build
a permanent monument on this site where Australia’s
modern journey commenced, and one that is symbolic
of the importance of Captain Cook’s first connection
with the Australian land.”
Senator Campbell also announced
a project to restore part of the area where botanist
Sir Joseph Banks gathered his original samples
during the Endeavour expedition.
“The plan is to establish the
natural environment that Banks would have seen
when he arrived on the shores of Botany Bay by
replanting, in a natural setting, specimens of
the plants that he collected during his time in
this area,” Senator Campbell said.
“An annual essay competition
for primary and secondary school children will
also start in July 2006, with the aim of encouraging
greater understanding of Australia’s history.
“Australians should embrace
our history and the best way to do this is by
learning about and acknowledging our past.”
The monument design competition and essay competition
details are available at www.heritage.gov.au
