The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. GISBORNE, JULY 2, 1902. COOK MEMORIAL.

Gisborne Times, Volume VII, Issue 460, 2 July 1902, Page 2

The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. GISBORNE, JULY 2, 1902. COOK MEMORIAL.

Now that the interesting problem of how to spond the Government grant to celobratc tho Coronation of our King has been solved, and it has been decided to build a band rotunda as a memorial of the momentous occasion ; now when tho fevered minds of tho townspeople and of our much-harassed Borough Council havo been reduced to their normal temperature, sve feel it a duty to bring before our readers what seems to us a work of love and a debt of honor which wo, as inhabitants of tho district of Poverty Bay, owe to one of tho greatest, if not the greatest of England’s navigators—Captain James Cook. Surely, if in the rush and bustle of our busy lives we pause for a moment to reflect on what wo as people of New Zealand owe to the courage, daring, and patience of that great sailor, tho thought must come home to us that it is a disgrace to this district that no monument of any kind has ever been erected here to mark tho site of his first landing in Now Zealand, and as a mark of respect and admiration we hold for the man to whom England owss one of tho brightest jewels in her crown. Visitors to Gisborne are always struck by tho absence of such a memorial. One is constantly hearing such questions as, “ Can you show me just whereabouts Captain Cook is supposed to have landed ? ” You show them the spot on the east side of the Turanganui river generally held to be the position of his first disembarkation, and you are then confronted with, “ But I see nothing to mark so historic an event; where is the monument erected to celebrate the ocea sion ? ” “What! Thore is none? Not even a cairn of stones ? That seems a strange neglect on the part of' the townsfolk,” And what are wo to answer to such remarks as these ? Are we to say that the people of Poverty Bay have forgotten tho man to whom wo as Englishmen owe the discovery of New Zealand, or shall wo rather say that the people of Gisborne harbor a feeling of strong resentment against tho great navigator because he had the audacity to name a place, where ho could get no food of any description from the warlike and distrustful natives, Poverty Bay ? The present time, therefore, seems propitious for orectiug somo tangible form of memorial to the man who first planted the Union Jack in this colony of ours. We have not been asked to mako any sacrifice with regard to tho Coronation memorial, and could therefore well afford to donate something towards so worthy an object. A very handsome stone monument could be orected, the cost of which would not be great, and yet it would bo one of the most interesting memorials in the colony, and one which we might well bo proud to own. The site for such would not be as difficult to determine as that for the band rotunda, for it would certainly be erected near the historic landing-place. If it were built, say, on the south-western face of the Kaiti Hill, and the surroundings were beautified in keeping, it would attract the attention of all visitors to Gisborne, and would serve to remind us of the great debt wo owe to Captain Oook. It gives us great pleasure, therefore, to advocate that a subscription-list bo at once opened, so that all may have an opportunity of contributing to this worthy object. We shall ourselves be pleased to receivo subscriptions from a shilling upwards, and we would suggest that a meeting be immediately called to appoint a committee to consider the best means of raising funds, both locally and throughout the colony, Tho matter is one of deep interest and importance to the colony as a whole, and, seeiDg that there is no memorial to Captain Cook anywhere in New Zealand, we feel sure that the load taken by Gisborne will enlist the fullest sympathy and support of the people of the colony,