On Friday 24 February, The National Library hosted a seminar, Cook’s Treasures, for an across the board exploration of Cook’s influence on Australian and South Pacific history. Keynote speaker Professor Iain McCalman delivered the 2012 Kenneth Binns Lecture, ‘Captain Cook’s Environmental Crisis on the Great Barrier Reef’. Over 100 guests enjoyed presentations by ANZMapS member and author of “Captain Cook’s War and Peace” John Robson, and a cast of mariners, academics, and North Queensland people.
List of presentations:
2012 Kenneth Binns Lecture, ‘Captain Cook’s Environmental Crisis on the Great Barrier Reef’, Professor Iain McCalman
Cook in Print: Andrew Sergeant, National Library of Australia
The Cook Archive: Nicola Mackay-Sim, Curator Pictures, National Library of Australia
Cook the Map Maker: John Robson, Map Librarian, University of Waikato
Dispelling the Myths, Oral history through the Guugu Yimithir people of contact with Cook and his crew: Alberta Hornsby, Kuku Yalanji, Guugu Yimithirr, Idinji, Ankamuthi and Ganggalida tribes of North Queensland
The Captain and His Book in the Victoria River Country, and Beyond: Deborah Bird Rose, Professor of Social Inclusion, Macquarie University
James Cook and the Endeavour at Botany Bay and Cooktown: John Molony, Emeritus Professor, Australian National University
Life on Cook’s Endeavour: Alan Frost, Professor Emeritus, La Trobe University
Cooks Relics Real and Imagined: Dr Nigel Erskine, Curator Exploration & European Settlement, National Maritime Museum
Some late improvements of the means for Preserving the Health of Mariners: Allen Mawer, independent researcher
