Posted on 03/29/2004 3:36:05 PM PST by swilhelm73
Australian authorities want to remodel Botany Bay, where Capt James Cook first landed in the country, to make it look less European and more Aboriginal.
Re-igniting the country's simmering racial divisions, the National Parks and Wildlife Service of New South Wales, which manages the site, wants to remove flagpoles and an historic anchor.
It also proposes to cut down a number of mature Norfolk Island pine trees and replace them with original bushland.
Even though the area is regarded as the birthplace of modern Australia, it said the features were symbols of "European dominance" and ignored its Aboriginal history.
Capt Cook's arrival in Botany Bay in 1770 heralded the European colonisation of Australia and dispossession of its Aboriginal population.
The proposal was backed by Aboriginal leaders, who said Capt Cook's arrival led to a period of land grabs, guerrilla warfare, population decline and cultural annihilation.
But a local MP, Malcolm Kerr, said the proposals smacked of political correctness and would "downgrade" the historical importance of Capt Cook's landing.
Since it was the landing point of Europeans who then dominated the continent, it seems entirely apropos.
"Botany Bay? Botany Bay?!"
"KHAAAAAN!"
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