City of Yarra to give away Captain Cook memorial because of repeat vandalism attacks

City of Yarra will not reinstate the Captain Cook monument in Fitzroy North’s Edinburgh Gardens because it says repeated vandal attacks have made it too costly to repair.

Yarra council won’t reinstate the Captain James Cook monument in Edinburgh Gardens in Fitzroy North because it has become too costly to repair after repeated vandal attacks.

Instead the plaque featuring an image of the English explorer will be given to the Captain Cook Society.

The small granite monument featuring a bronze plaque of Cook located in the popular Fitzroy park was spray-painted and knocked over in January last year.

Since then it has been in storage while the council considered its future.

But Yarra mayor Stephen Jolly said repeatedly repairing and reinstalling the monument was too costly.

“From a cost-benefit analysis, if we put that it back up in Edinburgh Gardens, everybody knows it’s going to get tagged,’’ Mr Jolly said.

“There’s going to be people out there who don’t like it, who will tag it, who will graffiti it with political slogans, and possibly even chop it down.

Captain Cook Memorial at Edinburgh Gardens was knocked over last year. Picture: Josie Hayden

Mr Jolly said he could not justify “spending dollars and dollars and dollars of ratepayers’ money in an impossible task to protect” the monument.

“Captain Cook, like it or not, is not loved by everybody, so it’s just not worth it for us, it’s not a core service,” he said.

Captain Cook Society spokesman Bill Lang said his organisation was keen to save the historic item.

“Absolutely — we’re more than happy to find it a home,’’ he said.

Vandals attempted to cut the head off the statue of Captain Cook in Fitzroy Gardens in February. Picture: David Crosling

The Captain Cook statue at Catani Gardens in St Kilda, was damaged in January 2024.

The monument was originally a gift to then the City of Fitzroy from local foundry owner J.A. Heyman in 1937.

It had been located at the Rowe St entrance to Edinburgh Gardens since 1993 until its forced removal 15 months ago.

The latest Yarra decision comes after the City of Melbourne repaired and returned a 2.1m bronze statue of Captain Cook in Fitzroy Gardens two months ago after it was knocked over and damaged in February a year before.

Vandals used an angle grinder to remove the 1973 statue which was later found by residents.

The 2.1m bronze sculpture near Cooks’ Cottage was also targeted in February when attempts were made to cut the head off.

And in the City of Port Phillip, its Captain Cook statue was reinstated in Catani Gardens, St Kilda, last November after it was cut from its stone base and daubed with the words “The colony will fall” in the lead-up to Australia Day in 2024.