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The first time he died was on the shores of an idyllic Hawaiian beach.
It was early morning on St Valentine's Day, 1779. Another of history's cultural collisions had escalated into a murderous frenzy as daggers, some iron, some fashioned from the bills of swordfish, plunged repeatedly into his body.
As his flesh was ripped to shreds and the warm Pacific waters turned crimson, James Cook slumped into the shallows, as despised then as he is now.
But dying once is never enough for history's influential figures. Our need to interrogate the past through the lens of the present means the dead are never allowed to rest. It's why Cook, who first charted Australia's eastern coastline and travelled farther into the unknown than anyone before him, has since died a thousand deaths.
The latest occurred last week in Christchurch when, two months after his eyes were gouged and his nose was sliced off, a statue of the man was further defaced. 'F--- James Cook' was painted across its base while the waters of a nearby fountain were dyed red in an eerie reminder of his original fate in Kealakekua Bay 245 years earlier.
On Australia Day eve this year, Cook's legs were sawn off and his bronze statue toppled in a Melbourne park, the third such attack on a Cook memorial in that city in weeks. "The colony will fall" was sprayed across its plinth. A month later, a Cook memorial in Sydney was also vandalised, prompting a local mayor to call for the removal of similar monuments because "they stand as a symbol and reminder of colonial oppression".
If Cook was revered for centuries as an extraordinary explorer and cartographer, it took just decades for him to become Australia's favourite scapegoat.
Only last week a set of spears he souvenired after his first encounter with Indigenous Australians in Botany Bay were handed over to descendants of the original owners by Cambridge University. The celebratory comments could not have been clearer. Cook was little more than a grubby white supremacist who plundered and murdered his way around the globe, trampling native cultures on behalf of his rapacious and racist empire.
He was hardly that, of course. His own journals and those of contemporaries prove Cook possessed unusual empathy with indigenous cultures for his era. He often banned his men from leaving the ship in Polynesia for fear of infecting local inhabitants with their venereal diseases. He also - almost always - took a cautiously peaceful approach during first contact.
But so embarrassed are we by Cook these days that school curriculums rarely mention him. Presentism - judging the past using the moral and ethical standards of today - is corrupting history in the same way our timid high school textbooks half a century ago whitewashed and removed references to English colonial atrocities.
There are valid arguments to be waged about the value of statues. Many regard them as nothing more than expensive depositories for bird crap. But vandalising memorials because they represent people with all too human flaws is not just a denial of history. It's a blatant act of hypocrisy by those who believe themselves even more morally superior than the 18th century colonialists they denounce.
Our past is complex. Filled with subtleties. But the modern world's demand for perfection makes no allowance for them. History's flaws are forbidden when glimpsed in today's rear view mirror. Cancel culture is now so infectious that even modern careers can be upended and lives destroyed by the discovery of one careless comment unearthed on social media.
Cook was never the evil imperialist his harshest critics claim. He was complicated, like us all, particularly late in life when his volcanic temper and mood swings, possibly caused by a chronic infection or growing mental disorder, concerned even those most loyal to him, ultimately leading to his murder on that Hawaiian beach.
But his achievements - mapping unknown territories, ensuring no sailors on his three expeditions died of scurvy (a miracle for the time) while proving just how vast and diverse our planet really was - surely deserve acknowledgement.
It was 254 years ago this week that Cook first sailed into Botany Bay. Two Gweagal men, believing Cook and his crew to be ghosts, shook their spears and shouted angrily at the visitors. Cook offered beads and nails as gifts, a currency highly valued elsewhere, before firing a warning shot in exasperation.
Centuries later Australians continue shaking their fists at Cook, angrily denouncing this ghost from our past. A thousand deaths, it seems, are never enough.
HAVE YOUR SAY: Should we remove statues of James Cook and other colonial figures? Is it fair to judge the past using the moral standards of today? What do you believe is Cook's true legacy? Email us: echidna@theechidna.com.au
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has opened the door to a debate over freedom of speech as his government considers age gating a wide range of misogynistic content spread online. But cyber security expert and Australia's inaugural eSafety Commissioner Alastair MacGibbon has cast doubt on the capabilities of age assurance technology.
- NSW Police are investigating claims the records of more than 1 million visitors to hospitality venues in NSW and the ACT have been released online. The data breach involves a third-party IT provider called Outabox used by venues such as RSLs and clubs for digital sign-in services.
- Forcing states and territories to reveal secretive road crash data will clip the wings of politicians tempted to pour money into marginal electorates instead of projects that save lives. That's according to the Australian Automobile Association, which has welcomed a federal government push to force all states and territories to be transparent about road data or risk losing billions of dollars in commonwealth funding.
THEY SAID IT: "We must judge men not by their opinions, but by what their opinions lead them to do." - James Cook
YOU SAID IT: John listed the inflight movies that stayed with him long after landing.
Steve writes: "On a trip to the US about 10 years ago I saw an incredible film called Concussion, starring Will Smith. When I came home I told a friend on the board of my local rugby league club about it. I said concussion would cause huge problems in Australian rugby league, rugby union and Aussie rules. He laughed and did nothing about it. Recently he said to me, 'I wish I had listened to you and passed the message on'."
"In the slowing down department, I have been watching and loving Midnight Diner on Netflix," writes Emile. "Each episode is only 20 minutes of gentle observation of human frailties and foibles - and forgivenesses (sorry about the made-up word). Another Netflix offering is 3000 years of Longing, a George Miller film with Tilda Swinton as an introverted scholar and Idris Elba as a djinn (genie) released from a bottle. And a cameo appearance by Megan Gale. A lovely, almost haunting tale along the lines of the seven veils. It is so good that it got a six-minute standing ovation at Cannes."
Anita writes: "A formidable number of good films watched during your period of reduced movement. I've watched all those films except Golda, which has just been released. A bit more regarding Perfect Days. Our star's appearance and habits hinted at a life of 'better days', maybe as a salaryman who lost his job during an economic downturn. This is not stated openly, but implied through his personal grooming, the quality of his overalls and his taste in literature and music. He had an eye for the subtle rewards gained by watching the formation of shadows of his favourite tree. Such refined tastes usually come at a price. Luckily he has not given up hope but gives his job the best he has to offer."
"My most recent film was Wicked Little Letters," writes Marilyn. "Brilliant and actually quite funny too. John must be like me. I find sleep on long haul flights eludes me so instead fill the time binge watching films. It helps ease the frustration of seemingly endless hours of flight time."
Lyn from Wollongong writes: "Perfect Days was for me literally the 'perfect' film, just a wonderful reminder of how we can find enjoyment in virtually anything. I had read reviews about this film, but went not expecting anything much. As if cleaning loos could be interesting? We came away just loving the tranquillity of this beautiful movie. How could you not love Hirayama? We watched Freud's Last Session recently and what an incredible movie. Two absolutely brilliant men with totally opposite points of view. The movie was made even better by both Anthony Hopkins and Matthew Goode. Not to be missed."
"Evil Does Not Exist, another Japanese film with slow filming, little dialogue and a focus on the beauty of the surrounding environment is one of the most savage exposes of some of the grosser aspects of modern society imaginable," writes Anne. "It's totally unforgettable."
Helen writes: "It was 14 years ago, but for my money, one of the best films we've ever seen is The King's Speech, for two reasons mainly. First, the amazing acting of Colin Firth. Anyone who has seen him as Mr Darcy in Pride and Prejudice has to appreciate his presentation of King George VI and his enormous difficulties in public speaking. The second reason is simply that, even given that it is drama, it gives a good idea of the problems the poor man had when suddenly thrust into the kingship, and the wonderful support his wife gave him, to say nothing of the perseverance and skill of Lionel Logue."
And from Peter: "I just wanted to express my admiration for David Pope's poignant cartoon of the mother and child fleeing planet DV for the vacuum of space. Pope clearly put more thought and compassion into that drawing than our leaders put into the policy response."