Right: ABC current events program presenter Stan Grant, an energetic supporter of Aboriginal / indigenous rights, has been criticised for questioning the inscription on the Captain James Cook statue in Hyde Park. Grant agrees that Cook was an explorer of great merit, but that the legendary Captain did not discover this continent.
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Background information
Background
Hyde Park, its history and surrounds
Hyde Park is the oldest public parkland in Australia. It is a 16.2-hectare (40-acre) park in the central business district of Sydney, New South Wales. Hyde Park is on the eastern side of the Sydney city centre and is listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register. It is the southernmost of a chain of parkland that extends north to the shore of Sydney Harbour via The Domain and Sydney's Royal Botanic Gardens. Hyde Park is approximately rectangular in shape, being squared at the southern end and rounded at the northern end. It is bordered on the west by Elizabeth Street, on the east by College Street, on the north by St. James Road and Prince Albert Road and on the south by Liverpool Street.
Hyde Park was named after Hyde Park in London. The park is pock marked with drain lids, many of which lead down to Busby's Bore, the first large-scale attempt at a water source system after backing-up the Tank Stream, the Sydney colony's primary water source. Busby's Bore was built between 1827 and 1837 using convict labour and fresh water from Lachlan Swamp (later known as Centennial Park) to the city.
From the very early days of the colony, the open area to the south east of the settlement was a favourite place for sport and recreation. It was known variously as 'The Common', the 'Exercising Ground', the 'Cricket Ground' and the 'Race Course. On 13 October 1810, Governor Macquarie separated the area from the Domain to the north, named it Hyde Park and dedicated it for the "recreation and amusement of the inhabitants of the town and a field of exercises for the troops". He kept the Domain for his own exclusive use.
Hyde Park's monuments
The centrepiece of Hyde Park is the Archibald Fountain. The fountain was designed by Francois-Leon Sicard and donated by J.F. Archibald in 1932 in honour of Australia's contribution to World War I in France. Also at the northern end are the Nagoya Gardens featuring a giant outdoor chess set and the entrance to the underground St James railway station.
At the park's southern end is the ANZAC War Memorial behind the 'Pool of Reflection' and the entrances to the Museum railway station. A monument consisting of a 105-millimetre gun from the German light cruiser SMS Emden stands at the south-eastern, Oxford Street entry of the park. It was built as a memorial to the Australian Imperial Force of World War I. Fund raising for a memorial began on 25 April 1916, the first anniversary of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) landing at Anzac Cove for the Battle of Gallipoli.[8] It was opened on 24 November 1934 by His Royal Highness Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester.
Close to the ANZAC Memorial in the southern end of the park is Yininmadyemi - Thou didst let fall, a public artwork that acknowledges the service of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and women in the Australian Defence Force. The artwork by Indigenous Australian artist Tony Albert was unveiled on 31 March 2015 and was commissioned by the City of Sydney as part of its Eora Journey public art initiative.
In the north-eastern sector, of the southern half of the park, there is a monument to Captain James Cook, erected to commemorate Cook's discovery of the east coast of Australia in 1770. The sculptor was Thomas Woolner (17 December 1825 - 7 October 1892) and the statue was cast by Cox & Sons, at its Thames Ditton Foundry, Surrey, England.