Tauranga Art Gallery - Toi Tauranga

Was Cook man or god? - 18 Jan 2010

Two and a third centuries after Captain James Cook’s death in Hawai’i, in 1779, debate continues over Cook’s ‘true’ place in history.

This, and Cook’s curiosity for the religious customs in other societies, will be the subject of two presentations to be held by Tauranga Art Gallery over the coming weeks. The presentations are the final two in the series of four by notable historians and anthropologists, as part of the Gallery’s exhibition ‘The Captain; exploring images of James Cook’.

Through his voyages of exploration in the Pacific, Captain James Cook became arguably the most famous living person on earth. Following his death in 1779, elaboration of the facts and stories surrounding Cook grew even more intense, in both the Western and Pacific cultures. The debate still continues over the sites Cook actually, or allegedly, visited and whether or not he was viewed at the time as a man or as a ‘god’.

Dr Tom Ryan from The University of Waikato looks at this mythologisation of Cook in his presentation ‘Captain Cook’s Shoes’, at 3pm, Saturday 23 January at the Gallery. Dr Ryan is Senior Lecturer in Anthropology at the university’s Hamilton campus.

The following week, Dr Michael Goldsmith discusses Cook’s curiosity and respect for religious customs, in his presentation ‘The Religious World of Captain Cook’, at 3pm, Saturday 30 January, also at the Gallery.

James Cook has often been thought of as secular, or a true child of the 18^th century Age of Enlightenment. However, according to Dr Goldsmith, Cook showed great curiosity and respect for the religious customs of other societies, and his relationship with the Christian tradition may have been far from antagonistic.

Dr Goldsmith is Associate Professor in Anthropology at The University of Waikato at Hamilton.

The presentations are being held in the Tauranga Art Gallery in association with The University of Waikato in Tauranga. Admission to both presentations is by gold coin donation, and bookings are essential on 578 7933.

For those who missed out on the first presentations by Professor Paul Tapsell and Professor Dame Anne Salmond, both lectures are available to listen to on MP3, at the Gallery.

The Captain will be at Tauranga Art Gallery until 31 January 2010.