Dr Daniel Solander was a Swedish natural scientist who sailed on the Endeavour alongside Sir Joseph Banks and James Cook on their expedition to Tahiti and returned via Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia in 1768–71. Paradise Lost brings together the work of 10 contemporary New Zealand based artists responding to the life of the Swedish botanist and his contribution to James Cook’s first voyage to the Pacific.
The Australian government has committed A$10.1m ($7.2m) over four years from 2020-21 to support the return of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural heritage overseas to traditional owners. The funding extends a A$2m ($1.4m) pilot project that was launched in 2018 by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), a government agency, whose latest report reveals the scale of ambition held for repatriation in this field.
As part of the Australian National Maritime Museum’s Encounters 2020 program to mark the 250th anniversary of James Cook’s charting of the east coast of Australia in 1770, Sydneysiders have the opportunity to see Cook’s copy of his secret instructions. This important document, on loan for a limited time from the National Library of Australia, is displayed in the museum’s Under Southern Skies gallery until the end of January 2021.
The $50 million redevelopment of the site where Captain Cook first clashed with Aboriginal Australians is at the centre of a government push to incorporate Indigenous culture into public spaces. Indigenous architects and artists are leading the redevelopment of the Meeting Place Precinct in Kamay Botany Bay, which will include an exhibition space at the visitor centre, a cafe, and educational programs.
The Black Lives Matter protests have stirred up anti-Captain Cook sentiment around the country, but Indigenous people in one Queensland town say they are still committed to commemorating the 250th anniversary of their ancestors’ first encounter with the explorer. James Cook arrived in what is now known as Cooktown on Cape York Peninsula in June 1770 and remained there for 48 days while repairing the Endeavour after it ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef.
Cooktown & Cape York Expo 2021 is a ten day regional expo and a festival of celebration, Reconciliation and a catalyst for regional economic renewal, highlighting Far North Queensland and Cape York’s unique history, culture, tourism offerings, visual art, performing arts, agriculture, indigenous and non-indigenous business. However because of Covid-19, the event has been postponed until 2021.