Description:
A growing pine tree (Araucaria cookii).
History:
On 8th August 1881 Prince Albert, Duke of Clarence & George Prince of Wales planted 4 pine trees at Kurnell. The trees had been brought over from New Caledonia for the occasion.
The site of this monument passed into public ownership in 1899, and became part of the ‘Captain Cook’s Landing Place Reserve’ in which historical monuments were preserved and displayed, including the one above.
On 28th April 1899, Sir Frederick Darley, the Lt Governor of New South Wales dedicated the site of Captain Cook’s Landing on Kurnell Beach, in Botany Bay for public use.
This public space was under the auspices of the Departments of Lands, and managed by a Trust, for the following 74 years. It was during this time that work was done on erecting monuments and plaques, memorials to Cook and his crew.
In 1967 the Reserve was passed to the National Parks and Wildlife Service, which had custody of the historic sites. By 1974, the Service took on full management and the Trust was disbanded. In 1988 it became the Botany Bay National Park.
In 1970, on the bicentenary of Cook’s landing at Botany Bay, there was a protest from the indigenous people about their rights and recognition within Australian society. This was resolved during the 1990s with a shift towards reconciliation between the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people.
The site has since been reviewed from a different angle, reinterpreted as a place for both races to embrace their shared history.
Inscription:
Tree plaque:
ARAUCARIA COOKII
THIS TREE WAS PLANTED BY
H.R.H. ALBERT VICTOR, AFTERWARDS THE DUKE OF CLARENCE
9TH AUGUST 1881 DURING A VISIT TO THIS RESERVE IN COMPANY WITH
H.R.H. PRINCE GEORGE LATER HIS MAJESTY, GEORGE V, AT THE TIME OF
THEIR VISIT THEIR ROYAL HIGHNESSES WERE BOTH SERVING AS
MIDSHIPMEN ABOARD THE BRITISH MAN-OF-WAR ‘H.M.S. BACCHANTE,
THEN ON A WORLD CRUISE.
THE ARAUCARIA COOKII, A NATIVE OF NEW CALEDONIA, IS NAMED
AFTER CAPTAIN COOK, WHO WAS THE FIRST TO IDENTIFY IT AS A
SEPARATE SPECIES. FORMERLY IT WAS BELIEVED TO BE IDENTICAL
WITH THE ARAUCARIA EXCELSA (NORFOLK ISLAND PINE).
GPS Coordinates: -34.00465, 151.216994
References:
Morning Post, Wednesday 26th April 1899. p.7.
Website: http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/resources/parks/KamayKurnellShortHistory.pdf
Website: http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/heritageapp/ViewHeritageItemDetails.aspx?ID=5061543
Website: http://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/landscape/discovery/display/21766-captain-cook%60s-landing-site
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