Captain James CookPrint Page

The bust was sculpted by C. R. Luttrell in 1979 to commemorate the bi-centenary of Cook's death on the 14th February 1779 in the Hawaiian Islands. The bust was stolen in 1982 and another bust was sculpted by ex-student Cameron Williams in 1983.

Ten days before his death, Captain James Cook (1728 - 1779) had sailed away from Kealakekua Bay, on Hawai’i Island. He and his crew had stayed on the island for a month. During this time, the islanders were celebrating in honour of their god Lono, a peaceful god of fertility and music. The Europeans participated in the celebrations and, when it came time for them to depart, they left the Hawaiian Archipelago in a spirit of friendship.

Not long after leaving the islands, Cook’s ship, HMS Resolution, was damaged in bad weather and Cook was forced to sail back to Kealakekua Bay to repair the ship’s broken mast.

Cook was sailing in the South Pacific on his third voyage of discovery. While he had some success in charting parts of North America, much of the voyage had been disappointing. It has been said that he became impatient and irritable. On returning to Kealakekua Bay, Cook was not in the mood to ignore the theft by some islanders of one of his vessel’s cutters (small boats). Cook responded aggressively and, while what happened next is unclear, it is certain that the local people turned on Cook and he was killed on the beach.

Location

Details

Dedication