Captain James CookPrint Page

An obelisk commemorates Captain James Cook who explored, charted and claimed the east coast of Australia for the British Empire in 1770. 

The obelisk was originally erected in 1854 and unveiled by Governor-General Charles A. Fitzroy at the corner of George and Moore Streets, Liverpool as a milestone between Liverpool and Campbelltown.

Captain James Cook claimed the whole of the east coast of Australia for Great Britain on 22 August 1770, naming eastern Australia, 'New South Wales.'

THE IMMORTAL COOK.-The Commissioners of the Road Trust are using every means in their power to speedily repair the roads under their charge, and, as they proceed, are placing mile-stones between Liverpool and Campbelltown. Captain Watson and the late Rev. James Walker, willing to turn this matter to some account, suggested the idea of making their starting stone an obelisk, of about 12 feet high, and similar to the one in Macquarie-place, in the city of Sydney.

The Commissioners consented, and the work has been accomplished: on the square part of the monument is engraved the distances of the various towns in the country ; and, in consideration of the town of Liverpool standing at the top of Cook's River, and there being in this colony nothing more than a small metal plate placed on a rock near Botany to the memory of the man who discovered this now rich and mighty land, the following is engraved on the top part of the obelisk—" To the Memory of Captain James Cook, R.N., the celebrated navigator and discoverer of New South Wales, born at Morton, Yorkshire, 27th October, A.D. 1728, and killed at the Sandwich Islands, 14th February, A.D 1779." This handsome piece of workmanship is placed at the corner of George and Moore streets.
The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW), 4 November 1854. 

Location

Details

Dedication