Australia debates Captain Cook 'discovery' statue

A debate ignited in Australia over a statue of British explorer Captain James Cook, which has a plaque saying he "discovered this territory".

The 19th Century statue, in Sydney's central Hyde Park, has come under scrutiny following recent discussion over Confederate monuments in the US.

Critics say the inscription overlooks indigenous Australians, while others defend it as being part of history.

Sydney's city council says it will seek advice on the issue. 
Lord Mayor Clover Moore said she had referred the debate to an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander advisory panel.

The monument was installed more than a century after Capt Cook arrived in Australia in 1770, later claiming the region for the British crown. It bears inscriptions marking Capt Cook's birth and death, but it is the south-facing engraving - "Discovered this territory 1770" - which has caused controversy.

Stan Grant, wrote an article on Friday arguing that "surely we need no longer maintain the fiction that he [Capt Cook] 'discovered' this country".  
 

UCJ, UNILORIN.