CAPTAIN COOK.

Gisborne Times, Volume LXVIII, Issue 10711, 8 October 1928, Page 6

CAPTAIN COOK.

ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

LARGE GATHERING AT MONUMENT.

ELOQUENT ADDRESS BY DR.

McILRAITH

Yesterday was the 159th anniversary of the landing of Capta n James Cook in., New Zealand. The year 1928 is the li-centenarv of the famous navigator’s' birth, and it is also the diamond jubilee year of the Royal Colonial institute. .■ it was only fitting that such notable anniversaries ' should be recognised in memorable' fashion ; therefore, under the'auspices- of the Royal Colonial Institute a memorial service was conducted yesterday at the Cook Monument on Kaiti. There was a very large attendance, including representatives of all public bodies und parades of Girl Guides, Brownies, Boy Scouts, Wolf Cubs, and South African Veterans’ Association. The Saivat.on Army and City bands were also present. Mr J. RKirk, of the Royal Colonial Institute, presided. Rroceedings opened with the reading of a lesson ,by the Rev. A. A. Barham, which was followed by the singing of the hymn, “O God Our Help m Ages Past.” The Rev. Mr Inglis, acting for the Moderator of the Presbyterian Assembly, then leu the gathering in prayer. Mr Iv.rk, on behalf of the Royal Colonial Institute, expressed eradication at the large assemblage which had gathered to pay tribute to one of the Empire s greatest heroes. Since their last gathering at the Memorial, great improvements: had been made in the precincts and these must be the admiration of all. This spot where they now stood had wonderful h.storical associations, and for that reason was a centre of interest to many visitors-to the district. It was gratifying to them when they recollected that the point on the beach, which had been marked with a flag by Mr G. J. Black, was that very spot where Captain Cook hau first'put foot in bringing New Zealand under the sovereignty of Britain. Th s was the 159th anniversary of that historic occasion, it was the bi-centenary of Captain Cook’s Ifrth, and it was also the diamond jubilee year of the Royal Colonial Institute, which aims at effecting celebrations of such anniversaries as this: one.

Mr Kirk then read the following messages which had been received in view of the celebrations:

From the Chairman and, Council of the Royal Colonial Institute:

“The Chairman and Council of the Royal Colonial Institute des.ro to associate themselves' with you in honoring the memory of Captain Cook in this, the bi-centenarv year of his birth.”

From the Premier, Mr J. G Coates:—

“I congratulate you on the holding of the ceremony to commemorate the landing ot Captain Book in New Zealand on October d, 1769, particularly as this year is also the bi-centehary of that great navigator. Whilst his hist voyage . was for astronomical purposes as well as discovery, so successful wa» it in its results in the latter respect that he was sent again and yet again, liis careful investigations disprov.ng the existence or a. supposed great southern continent, but proving the existence ot the Continent of Australia and the Islands of New Zealand, and ndding substantially to the knowledge of the Pacihc Ocean and its islands. So good a nautical surveyor was he that his charts of these lands were used with confidence for many years i& traders and others * whom his report brought to these southern waters, the chart of New Zealand being only mod.fied, not supplanted, by nautical surveys as late as lfc4B, long after the systematic colonisation of the islands . had) begun. We owe a deep debt ' of gratitude to him who has long been acknowledged by all nations as one of the greatest navigators of all countries and all times, ana 1 should like to add my personal * tribute and that of the Government to the many being paid to • his honored memory to-day. From the Hon. K. -S. W.lhams: “! much regret my inability to attend this year’s ceremony in memory of Captain Cook’s arrival at Poverty Bay on October 8, i/69. It is at milestones like this that one instinctively looks back to the period concerned, and realises something of the cond.tions and the atmosphere in which the great exploration feats of that time were undertaken, without the nautical a.ds and appliances of to-day which enable us to regard with independence an d almost defiance the dangers and uncertainties of the elements with w-hat terrible sceptic.sm, what disquieting doubts, ana discouraging predictions the igator must have had to contend both for himself and his followers. Only great tenacity of purpose, faith in himself and his men, ana boundless enthusiasm for his mission could have enabled him even w.th his skill and navigation gifts, to accomplish his purpose a purpose fraught with ne less danger and uncertainty than the aerial feats which at the present time w e applaud and extol. I am glad to join with you in thanksgiving foi the discovery of our land by Cap tain Cook, .and .for the fact that it was one of. Britain’s sons w'.ho •damped her mat.onality on ' the face of New Zealand. . It seems to me appropriate also in this, tne diamond jubilee year of the Royal Colonial: Institute, to acknowledg the great'debt the nation owes, to that staunhh tody , which, ior so long, has fostered, encouraged, and assisted', both materially and with all the advice and experience at the disposal of its numerous, branches, the exploration ventures of the past sixty years, and so <ided the extension and development of our great Empire.

From the Gisborne Returned Soldiers’ Association: “My Association will be represented at the function. I would draw to the attention of your lnstrtiite the fact that the precincts of the memorial have recently been improved and! laid out bv returned sold er relief money, which works' are, the testimony of this ' Association to the memory of that great navigator whose memory you propose to honor.”' In conclusion, Mr Kirk expressed gratitude Ato. the Borough Council for' their .work, about the-Memorial, to the Salvation Anny and City bands for-their assistance,. to the ministers of the Gospel for participating in.. the religious portion of the ceremony, and to the'donors or noi-ai krfputes. . . • . Dlt 'McILitAiTH’S ADDRESS.

STIRRING TRIBUTES TO GREAT ' ,- - CIRGUMNaVIGATUU.

!“Jo-dky meet -to do honor, to the memory- of, one of the most famous. British seamen—Captain James Cook There, have been navigators who .’dared greater dangers .than rnnk • .But' none who, considering the ace in which, he.lived, ha s set a + nobS example to. those whose, path ot Sv e led them into strange-seas and this sterling tribute, .hr T W-Mcllraith;- of papier,; the princi©4 : element adless..

“Of Cook’s eany life you know as much as I,” continued Dr Mcllraith. “It is not of that that I would speak, but rather of that great and abiding work which he accomplished, not only for the Eriipire, but also for humanity itself. And we shall truly honor him best if wo set ourselves to carry on, at the highest level, that noble work which he initiated “He landed on this spot 159 years ago, .just when the British Empire appeared on the verge of disintegration—just when, after an unparalleled series of victories in Europe, in the eastern hemisphere, andl in the west, the gloom of impending eclipse seemed about to settle down upon us. As I shall show you later, Cook’s achievement shone forth like a beacon light through the national gloom. “His coming was intimately associated with events which first shook civilisation to its very foundations, but which later compelled man to widen the horizon of, firstly, his knowledge, secondly, his commerce and, lastly, ,li:s sympathies. It was associated first with the great struggle between Europe and Asia, and then with the struggle for overlordship between England and Spain, Spain and Holland, and France and England. To see Cook and the inward sgnificauce of his achievements in their proper -perspective, we must pass in rapid rev.ew those mighty events', during the latter of which Cook proved an unconscious, but very potent, instrument in the directing of Britain’s policy. “About the middle of the .loth century, an Asiatic race, the ancestors of the Turks, moved westward and hung themselves across the overland trade route to India ana the East. The Germanic life of Europe was badly jarred; social and domestic life found itself deprived ol those things itunost valued —of silks and muslins and jewels, of cloves, pepper and other spices. In those days, the art of growing sufficient fodder to keep cattle fat enough to kill in the winter was very imperfectly understood. Equally imperfect was the art of preserving the meat that had been killed in the autumn. -Smothering it with spices was one method of making it palatable ; and spiices Europe must have. It is said that the very origin of our trade with Ind.a. and ’ the East was a search for pepper. Dr Mcllraith went on to point out that, with their ancient route to India blocked, the European nations sought another way. The belief was then growing that the wor*cl was round and Columbus and some Fortuguess explorers- had found some new lands, while i’ortugal had made herself paramount in the Indian Ocean. Thus, 400 years ago, while much of the lnd.au Ucean was fa.rlv well known, no man had then seen Australasia. Geographers: had learned -the earth was a rolling ball, and, said they, it would surely wobb.c if there was no great southern continent to balance the laud m the north. For this reason, then, their eanv maps had a large unknown southern continent marked in. Spanish explorers made efforts to locate this new land of the south, bub a.I they discovered were islands which they named) after Solomon because they eons.dered his gold must have come from there. Twenty years after the Solomons were d.scovered, the Spaniards sent out ships to colonize them, but they could not. find them and they -were not located again for 200 years. Other expeditions followed, but none was successful in finding Australia or New Zealand.

The speaker then traced the growth of Holland's power as the result of Spanish invasions forcing her to buila a Meet of 2UOO ships, which, later, attacked the Spanistq and' Portuguese possessions in the East. Going still further, the Dutch sought the great unknown continent or the south and, m 1606, they discovered Australia and charted its coast line, except the east and half the south. Thirty-six year s later, Abel . Tasman sailed south from Batavia, the capital of Holland’s eastern empire, to complete the explorat on started fly the earlier expedit on. Striking east, he discovered Tasmania and then continued on in the same direction until he reached New Zealand. 'Sailing up the west coast, he found the Maoris hostile and at the Three Kings he turned for home. Tasman did not realise he had touched at a separate land, but thought he had simply found a projection from the great southern continent. „ 0 “Thus, by 1644,” went on Dr Mcllraith, “there were discovered the northern and western and part of the southern coast line of Australia, and the greater part of the west coast of New Zealand, it is, therefore, surprising that between and 1769—a period of 125 years—no further discoveries were made, it was left for Cook to fill in the gaps. And whv did Cook go ?

“In 1755, when the English turned the French out of Canada, tne English General Wolfe had with him Lieut. Jas. Cook, whose skill m charting the waters of the St. Lawrence contributed very materially to the British victory which depended, largely, for its success upon the element of surprise. Turned out of the western world, France dreamed of an empire in the east and the Government was urged to take steps in this direction. Hearing of this, the British hastily despatched two ships to forestall the French expedition under Bougainville. Tahiti was diseoveved and the .British flag hoisted. Hot on their trail came the French, who also reached Tahiti and annexed ■it for France. Turning south, Bougainville re-discovered the New Hebrides* and also annexed these. He was then heading straight for Australia, but found himself m great danger on tho outer edge of the Barrier Reef and sheered off—thus the sixth great navigator missed the eastern coast of Australia. “Then the Royal Society of England took up the matter., it was anxious to observe the transit ° Venus across the face of the sun m order to Calculate the distance between the earth and file sun. lh e British Government ottered the Endeavor” and a grant of £4OOO to effect this purpose. The Royal Society wished to have a certain commander, but he was not a i.ayal man on- whom the Government insisted. Ultimately, the choice fell on Look, and he sailed from the Homeland m 1768, reaching Tahiti, where he remained for a considerable time, iiio astronomical ot&ervations carrie out and the calculations made have since been shown to have h&d the comparatively minor error of 000 miles. Leaving Tahiti, Look sailed’ in search of the land discovered by Tasman in 1642.” Dr Mcllraith then went on to detail the happenings ill October, 17bJ, when Captam Cook slighted and tonally reached the coast of ioverty Bay.’ He described, in most interesting fashion, the incidents connect-, ed with the navigator’s stay oh this coast aind ako his subsequent movements about the. Few Zealand coast. ■’Leaving the Dominion, Cook. visited Java, where sickness attacked the crew of the “Endeavor” with disastrous results.- Ultimately, , te s nearly three years’ absence, England was readied again on July H, E'l- - was delighted, remarked Dr Mcllraith, “and the King expressed his. approbation. • lhe Royal - Society was so pleased at this that, finding that the grant-of £4OOO had not been wholly expended, they genevously devoted-the balance to a bust of King George! • .. , “Now, What had Cook done i in three year ß h e had explored more ox the South : Seas than had .al, who hac

gone before him. He had literally and definitely placed New Zealand and Australia on the map. He had shown there was no great southern continent. His two botanists had returned laden with greater treasures of natural history than had any two men before them. Cook was an excellent navigator : whether in charting the ocean, bed or. ip locating the exact positioin of. his discoveries, or in mapping new lands. No other of his time could equal-him and he had decided that the conditions in the new countries made them suitable as homes for Englishmen.

“As the son of a farmer. Cook took an exceptional interest in the soil of any land! he touched and he assessed its value as a home for the European race. Thoughts of possible mines of gold and silver, which so obsessed the minds of other explorers, had no place in Cook's calculations. He knew that the only permanent and abiding prosperity of any land was rooted in the surface soil of that country.

“As a commander, lie' ruled lus ship’s company with strict and impartial justice. The same kind ot food was served <o all; whenever ho wished to introduce a new food 1 , he served it to the officers first; any additional refreshment that camo aboard was shared m equally by all. His use of saiiorkiaut prevented the terrible scourge of scurvy, and he did not lose a single man bv this dread disease. In his treatment of native races, lie displayed humanity that was a century ahead of its time.

“At the outset, I said that Cook’s discoveries cam 3 at a most opportune time for England. The loss of the American colonies cast a depression over •the land. When the first fit of this had passed, however, England displayed the same overflowing energy as befoie. bier future was to be on the seas. New nations were to aiise in other portions of tne globe, Britisn in Wood, British in speech, and British m their love ot freedom. She was to light the beacons of liberty for mankind to which less-favored nations nngnt direct their eyes and never lose hope. And the opportunities for such expression were due more to the discoveries or Cook and ,ins men than to those ot any other man. And it is lor this, and; this principally, that we are here 10-day at this historic spot to pay bun and iiis mates this small tribute of remembrance, it is not by floral wreaths, nor in 'tablets of graven brass, nor in stately obelisks, that the memory of these men will be perpetuated.—these are but the visible, immediate and superficial symbols of our reverence and respect; the real measure of our homage is: the advantage we have taken to develop to the utmost of oV.f powers and for the whole of humanity, the regions to which these intrepid men opened np, for ever, the pathway. Actions are ever more eloquent than monuments.

Thu Mayor (Mr D. \V. Coleman), in a few words, praised the Royal Colonial Institute on their enterprise in bringing about the commemoration of this auspicious date. Many anniversaries would be much uefcter, forgotten' but this was one which deserved commemoration, they had lately been admiring the great adventure of Kingstord Smith and his party, but, great as this had been, that of Cook was greater. AM were proud to be present that /lav and they would all trust that Mt*» Institute would see that the occasion alwavs received the recognition it deserved. He was proud to be Mayor of the Council which had h*en able to put the effecting of improvements- about the Memorial in hand.

WREATHS PLACED ON MEMORIAL.

Wreaths were then placed on the Memorial as follow : On behalf of the Royal Colonial Institute, by Mr 9. R. Kirk; Borough Council, Mr Coleman ; Cook County Council, Mr Chas Matthews; Harbor Board, Mr T. Todd, Waikohu County Council, Mr (». H. Morice; Cook Hospital Boatd', Vfr M. W. Craig; Rotary Club, Mr H. F. F'orster; Navy League, Mr tr. J. Rowley; Victoria League, Mrs 'V. tC. Goffe; Boy Scouts, Girl Guides, Plunket Society, Women’s National Reserve, Power Board, High School Board, Women’s Club (also separate wreaths from Literary, Arts and Crafts and Gardening Circles), Mr und Mrs J. R. Kirk and family, Mr und Mr s Phil Barry, Mr and Mrs T. A.. Crawford, Mr and Mrs W. Green, Miss Mary Barry, John and Patsy Crawford, andl a number un-named.

WREATH FROM COOK’S BIRTHPLACE.

Mr J. R- Kirk then explained that he had received a wreath ti om Mr and Mrs H. W. F. Bolckow, ot Marton-in-Clevelund, Yorkshire, England. The great-grandfather of Mr Bolckow had owned the estate 200 years ago, when Cook was born there. Mr Kirk then deposited the wreath amidst great applause. The Rev. Oscar Allwright led the gathering in the Benediction and the ceremony concluded.