Well, as promised a month or so ago here is Part Two of this little dive into the mad world that is about to engulf Australia (Note: my prediction). Everything to do with one of the greatest sailors and navigators in history will, I predict, soon be erased; so go and see them and photograph them now while you still can. OK, I may be exaggerating here but I do not think by much. Once it all kicks off it will snowball very rapidly – as these things tend to. We have seen isolated incidents already and soon it will turn into a one way tsunami (I predict).

In case you missed the first part click here to read and see that one… There is some good background info in that first post.

Anyway let’s get into it…

Pub

There are a few pubs (aka hotels) named after Captain Cook in Sydney. There is one in Botany not far from the airport and main shipping port, plus one in Millers Point near the CBD (see below). This one is in Paddington not far from the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). 

I intend to have a beer in every pub named after the great Captain..

Cooks River

Cooks River flows into Botany Bay after running right alongside the airport. Now this one is a bit of a mystery. Streets, pubs, statues, even parks, are all new things built in recent year and given names. But this river would have already had an Aboriginal name. At least I would have thought so. Which makes it all the more amazing that this river has not already been renamed. Or is that ‘name reverted’? How do they phrase such a thing? Anyway, surely you get my point. Basically what they did to Ayers Rock and many other places. 

I wonder what they will rename the Cooks River Croquet club??

Cook Park – Botany Bay

This one covers some area and is a great spot looking out over Botany Bay. There are plenty of signs that will inevitably need replacing (probably) unless common sense prevails…

Kurnell

I feel I should do a full post all about Kurnell. This of course was the actual spot where Captain Cook landed. The first (known) European to set foot in eastern Australia. 

Did I not already do one? (Pops off to check)… No! It seems I did not! Quite amazing really as this place is as historical as it gets in Australia. The absolute pinnacle in fact. And I have visited the spot a few times. OK readers. I promise to give you a post dedicated to Kurnell in the near future… Meanwhile here are the Cook related features that could soon be renamed and lost forever. 

Cook and Philip Pool and Park

This one is just off Hyde Park in the centre of Sydney. Stones throw away from the Cook statue in fact (if you are a really good stone thrower). The sports centre is alongside a park of the same name. 

This one is of course doubly offensive (sarc). Not only did they have the audacity to name these places after the great captain but also that Philip bloke. Yes Arthur Philip, the real “invader” and first governor of the new colony. Surely all evidence of his existence must also be erased?

Once again I find myself asking: How the fook has this one stood unchallenged (and not been renamed) for so long?

Captain James Cook Memorial, Liverpool 

Liverpool is a suburb in the south west of Sydney. It is here that you will find a strange little memorial in a small park. Not particularly impressive but very visible, easy to access and no signs of vandalism at all. In fact there is even a more recently installed plaque to commemorate the 250th anniversary of Cook’s landing (which was in 2020). So a big up to the locals and council in Liverpool I say!  

James Cook High School

I expected there to be quite a few schools named after the great man but only one I found around Sydney. Do you know of more? If so then please share them with a comment. 

This school – James Cook Boys Technology High School to give it its full title – is in Kogarah in south west Sydney, less than 1km directly inland from Botany Bay.

Notable Mentions…

Here are a few streets I never managed to get to:

Cook Road: There are several. In Marrickville, Killara and Oyster Bay.

Cook Avenue: These street names can be found in Daceyville, Canada Bay and Canley Vale.

Captain Cook Drive:  There is only one of these (oddly) that I found in Willmot. 

Cook Street: Again, not as many as you might expect. Apart form the one that runs alongside the Cook statue in Randwick (see part 1) there are Cook Streets in Glebe and Rozelle.

Do you know of any other places named after Captain James Cook? If you do then please share them with a comment. Would you like to see a Part Three? Answers in the comments please

As always please “like” and subscribe to this blog if you like the content. Also feel free to share this post with anyone you feel may enjoy it.
Better still (with this post) share it with anyone that you think it will piss off.  Hahahaa ; )