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The Press Thursday, August 11, 1932. The Statues of Christchurch.

The statue of Captain James Cook, unveiled yesterday by the GovernorGeneral, adds something to the appearance of Christehurch and something to the life of its citizens. Most people are justifiably suspicious of proposals to erect statues, for in New Zealand, as in other countries, statues are more often than not dull effigies of dull people. In this respect Christehurch has been lucky; Moorhouse on his lofty seat in the Botanic Gardens, Rolleston among the elms of the avenue named after him, and Godley under the shadow of the Cathedral, are posthumous citizens of whom Christehurch can be proud. Besides being pleasant to see, they remind us of a history which is in danger of being forgotten because of its very nearness. It is sometimes hard* to remember that history is a record, not of time, but of action, and that if Rome had been built in a day the history of that day would be as important as the history of the formative centuries. Christehurch was built ih a very few years and its citizens are not always as conscious as they should be of the importance of the events compressed into that short span. The statues Of Moorhouse and Rolleston and Godley remind us, not of men who made a wilderness part of civilisation, but of great and good citizens not long dead. The addition of Captain Cook to their number will help to put their lives in perspective, since in history they are nearer to him than they are to us. And Cook's life has the decent remoteness that is associated -with history. He looked across the Canterbury Plains to the mountains in the days when England was still within the close and definite horizon of the eighteenth century. Dr. Johnson heard the story of his voyages with robust scepticism and Boswell was politely amused at the social conduct of the Hawaiian youth brought back in the Endeavour. Yet Cook's discoveries had an influence that was immediate and profound. Pressure of population and the need for new markets had overcome the pessimism, caused by the loss of the American colonies and Imperial ambitions were reviving. Cook showed where a new Empire could be planted. And it was peculiarly fortunate that some of those who first saw the possibilities of the newly discovered lands in the Pacific were determined that the new Imperialism should, be something more than a scramble for wealth and territory. It was through their efforts that New Zealand was colonised on an Orderly plan and with a minimum of injustice to the; original inhabitants. The founders of Canterbury were among the most enlightened and the most successful of the new Imperialists, so that the statues of Christehurch, now that they include Cook, make and complete ah inspiring chapter in the history of the British race. The City owes and acknowledges a lasting indebtedness to Mr M. F. Barnett, whose generous thought planted this memorial in its midst.» ..

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Permanent link to this item

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19320811.2.67

Bibliographic details

Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20622, 11 August 1932, Page 8

Word Count
502

The Press Thursday, August 11, 1932. The Statues of Christchurch. Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20622, 11 August 1932, Page 8

The Press Thursday, August 11, 1932. The Statues of Christchurch. Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20622, 11 August 1932, Page 8