Places

Captain Cook Statue, Victoria, British Columbia

Many members are probably familiar with this statue of Captain Cook standing looking out over the harbor of the city of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

It is a fine memorial to the man who discovered the harbor back in 1778.

I have some friends in the area who were keen to take a batch of pictures of the statue, from varying angles, including some of the plaque on the statue, recounting its history.

Apart from what it says on the plaque, I don't know the circumstances that led to its erection.

Ms Hope Jeter, Los Angeles
See also Cook's Log, page 1677, vol. 22, no. 4 (1999)

I took these photos at the height of the Victoria tourist season. The streets here were filled with people from all walks of life and from all over the world. The statue of Captain Cook is situated facing the Empress Hotel which is a major land mark in our city. Behind his back is the inner harbour. Literally hundreds of people stop and view the statue each day, to read the inscription, or to take a photograph, often with a member of their family standing next to the statue. Captain Cook was the earliest English explorer on our coast and he is, therefore, well known throughout the community.

Peter Lindsay, Victoria, BC

Originally published in Cook's Log, page 23, volume 31, number 4 (2008).

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Previous Comments:
Ivan Bulic
A reply to Ms Hope Jeter's above comment that Cook "...was the man who discovered the harbour (Victoria) back in 1778."" Cook did not "discover" Victoria harbour. His only landfall on Vancouver island was at Nootka Sound on the outer west coast.
Cliff Thornton
To answer Ms Jeter's query over why the statue was erected. In 1975, British Petroleum (B.P.) commissioned three statues to be moulded in fibre-glass from the Cook statue which stands on West Cliff, Whitby. In 1976, to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the start of Captain Cook's Third Voyage, B.P. offered a replica statue to three locations visited by Cook on board Resolution - Hawaii, Vancouver Island, and Anchorage. The statue presented to British Columbia was erected by the harbour at Victoria, Vancouver Island, but it was pulled down and destroyed by protesters several years ago. The statues at Hawaii and Anchorage are still standing.
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