Tear statues down if negative traits can’t be shown, expert says

Statues of famous figures like Captain Cook and John Batman should be torn down — but one change could save them, an expert says.

Statues and monuments to historical figures such as Captain Cook and John Batman should be torn down unless their negative traits can also be shown.

That’s the view of public land expert David Gabriel-Jones, who said that putting “a dozen words on a brass plaque” was not enough.

Mr Gabriel-Jones is founder and principal of The Public Land Consultancy, which does contract work for government departments, statutory authorities, and local councils.

In his sights are famous personages like explorer Captain Cook, Melbourne pioneers John Batman and John Pascoe Fawkner, and Redmond Barry, the judge who condemned Ned Kelly to hang.

Mr Gabriel-Jones said that Barry, whose statue sits on the State Library forecourt, was a complex man.

“His faults, and they were many, related to sexism and women,” he said.

“But then, it’s a fact that he defended a couple of Aboriginal people accused of murder.”

The statue of Sir Redmond Barry, who condemned Ned Kelly to hang, outside the State Library. Picture: David Caird

Mr Gabriel-Jones said it was weird that there was a statue of Captain Cook in St Kilda — “he never came to St Kilda or anywhere near it”.

“I wish there was some way of using that statue as an introduction to a discussion of all the complexities that go with the celebration of Cook,” he said.

“As for John Pascoe Fawkner, there are still people who regard him as a major hero, and a person to be revered and celebrated, and I’m not going to dispute that,” he said.

“But I happen to know that he was viciously anti-Chinese, a total racist.”

“My first thought is leave Fawkner Park named Fawkner Park, but somehow find a way of talking about the complexities that go with the legacy of the man, and using it as an opportunity to provide a history lesson.”

Mr Gabriel-Jones said that John Batman, who is commemorated in a plinth at Queen Victoria Market, was more problematic, due to allegations that he murdered Tasmanian Aborigines before settling in what is now Melbourne.

“But then he tried to make a deal with the Wurundjeri people,” he said.

The John Batman monument at Queen Victoria Market. Picture: Tim Carrafa

The statue of Captain James Cook in St Kilda’s Catani Gardens.

“What he was doing then was recognising native title, so in that sense he was 150 years ahead of his time, so it’s a mixed story with Batman.”

Mr Gabriel-Jones said he would support leaving controversial statues and monuments in place if a new interpretation of the person’s action was added, even like a special page on social media.

“If it turns out to be impossible, then knock ‘em down,” he said.

But Institute of Public Affairs research fellow Brianna McKee said that very few influential figures, past or present, could ever meet the high bar of political correctness in 2022.

“The fact that historical characters are flawed people capable of affecting great changes while also promoting less desirable ones is completely unsurprising and should not detract from their contribution to society,” she said.

“Toppling statues is cancel culture, and diminishes the wealth of knowledge passed to future generations.”

A memorial to John Batman was built in 1881 at his burial site at Queen Victoria Market.

A “corrective plaque” on it features an apology to Aboriginal people, but it is uncertain what will happen to the plinth following consultation with Indigenous groups.