‘Historical moment’: Sheridan Street’s Captain Cook statue to finally come down
After two false starts, the giant effigy of Captain James Cook is ready to set sail from its Cairns home where it has stood for half a century.
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UPDATE: After two false starts, the giant effigy of Captain James Cook is ready to set sail from its Cairns home where it has stood for half a century.
The seven-metre replica of the famous British explorer will be removed on Tuesday and transported under heavy police guard to a holding facility in Mount Molloy.
Owner Martin Anton said he was “nervous and excited” about the prospect of the operation after having to cancel arrangements twice due to inclement weather.
He said it was a “historical moment” for the city.
“Wednesday morning it will be his last tour of Cairns and the regions,” he said.“It just hangs over your head until it gets done, the phone calls haven’t stopped,” he said.
“It’s a historical moment for anyone that is from Cairns, contrary to what a lot of critics say about the artistic value of the statue.“I think it’s a pretty good effigy of him and we’re excited to get home down.”
Mr Anton, who purchased the monument from James Cook University for $1, said the delay in its removal had allowed his team to finetune plans for its safe handling.
It will be carefully removed by machinery in one giant piece and placed on a semi-trailer.
It has towered over Sheridan Street for 50 years.“We’re as confident as we possibly can be, and the delay has actually been good as it has allowed us to change a little bit of tact in terms of the style of lifting,” he said.“It’s allowed us to put new checks and balances in with contingency plans.
“I can assure you we haven’t stopped planning and are very much thinking about the task at hand.“JCU will be hyperventilating at the moment hoping that we don’t cancel another one.”
Cairns Division 9 councilLor Brett Olds said despite the controversial nature of the statue, which petitioners have tried to remove on several occasions, he felt “it’s a bit sad” the city would lose a part of its history.
“It’s a bit sad, it has been a part of the history of Cairns for a long, long time, longer than most people have lived here,” he said.
“I’d say there are more people that want to see it there than those who want it to go, but at least it is going to live on.
“It’s a sad moment, but I understand the university hospital needs to be built but at the same time, it is always a bit sad when a piece of history moves on.”
James Cook University’s Cairns Campus Director David Craig said the university’s focus was firmly on the clearance of the site in preparations for the Cairns Tropical Enterprise Centre.
EARLIER: Cairns businessman Martin Anton said he was excited to have purchased the towering “and important” seven-metre piece of Far North history, but would not reveal his plans other than to promise to do “everything in our power to preserve it”.
As exclusively revealed in the Cairns Post on Friday, its first stop will be a holding facility in Mount Molloy with a new location to be thrashed out.
It’s believed the historic port of Cooktown, named after the English skipper’s famous 1770 voyage, is firmly in the frame.
“We don’t know yet,” Mr Anton said.
“I need to talk to the respective councils of where it could go back up again to get engineering approvals, it’s a little bit complicated and expensive.
“I can tell you it’s not coming back to Cairns.”
Mr Anton said the first challenge was getting structural engineers “to give it the once over and a clean bill of health”.
The statue could take four weeks to come down, and isn’t expected to find a new site for at least 12 months.
“The engineers have stated that it stands to reason if we can pull him down in one piece, we can put him up again,” he said.
Mr Anton, owner of Anton Demolitions, said the iconic statue “means a lot to a lot of people”.
“Not just Cairns people, but people from all over Australia and around the world,” he said.
“There are a lot of people in Australia and England who are proud of Captain Cook’s exploits and everyone has a story to tell about Captain Cook.
“History is what it is, whether it’s good or bad, it still has to be told.
“We can’t just rewrite history because we want to.”
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Originally published as ‘Historical moment’: Sheridan Street’s Captain Cook statue to finally come down
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