Melbourne Council Shelves Captain Cook Monument After Repeated Vandal Attacks

The city of Yarra will no longer display a monument of the famous British explorer.

A vandalised statue of early explorer Captain Cook at Fitzory Garden, Melbourne, Australia on Feb. 25, 2025. AAP Image/Diego Fedele

The Mayor of Melbourne’s Yarra City Council says the decision to remove a memorial to Captain James Cook from Fitzroy’s Edinburgh Gardens is just a “boring economic issue” and not based on any particular ideology.

Mayor Stephen Jolly made the comments as the council announced it would not replace the monument, which has been the subject of ongoing vandalism.