To Cook Cook Or Not
On the biennale of Captain James Cook’s arrival in the Great South Land, First Nations artists will be debating the consequences of Cook planting the British flag on Australian soil.
The hostess is the dubiously named Miss Elaneous, who will be joined by Matty Webb, while the panel comprises Artist Director of the Sydney Festival Wesley Enoch, comedian Dane Simpson, actors Anthony Taufa and Megan Wilding, and adjudicator/fact checker Dr Leah Lui-Chivizhe from the University of Sydney.
The aim of this debate is “to challenge the significance of Captain James Cook’s voyage to Australia 250 years ago and stimulate discussion about the narratives that define the story of Australia.”
Historian Manning Clark kicked off the debate when, on January 25, 1988, the day before the Bicentennial, he wrote: “Now we are ready to face the truth about our past, to acknowledge that the coming of the British was the occasion of three great evils: the violence against the original inhabitants of the country, the Aborigines; the violence against the first European Labor force in Australia, the convicts; and the violence done to the land itself”.
This will be a thought-provoking evening, bound to introduce new perspectives on Australian history to audience members.
Jan 25. Sydney Town Hall, 483 George St, Sydney. $25+b.f. Tickets & Info: www.sydneyfestival.org.au
