9 



very high honor is conferred upon me in having my name associated with this 

 memorial of his greatness. There is no one among the names of England's 

 heroes more deserving of this recognition on your part, and none whose career 

 could be held up as a brighter example to every Englishman, than that of 

 Captain Cook. Humble as his origin was, he possessed that true nobility of 

 character, which has for its object, not the aggrandizement of self, but the 

 welfare of the nation. He is among the chief of those who, in making 

 Englishmen proud of their name and of their mother country, have helped to 

 cement in one powerful brotherhood the subjects of the British Empire in 

 every part of the world. In conclusion, I trust that there are many among 

 the sons of Australia who will emulate his example, and gild with noble deeds 

 the name of this great country, and the fame of England." 



Had the present circumstances of this country permitted it, the Duke 

 of Edinburgh would have been requested, on behalf of the New Zealand 

 Institute, to join with us in some similar celebration. There can be no doubt, 

 but that the time will come when there will arise in this country, as at 

 Sydney, a monument to the memory of Captain Cook. Meanwhile, let us 

 at least place on record, among the Transactions of the Institute, that we are 

 not forgetful that this is the hundredth anniversary of his first arrival in New 

 Zealand ; and that we yield to no community of our countrymen, elsewhere, 

 in admiration for his character, and for the magnificence of his achievements. 

 It has been truly remarked that Cook, as a seaman and navigator, occupies 

 the first rank in nautical history and science ; and that later mariners and 

 observers, though they have added to his discoveries, have rarely found it 

 possible to dispute them. In his charts and journals nothing is uncertain, 

 nothing is irrelevant, the modern investigator starts from them as from 

 authorities of undoubted accuracy. A few years ago, I had myself a favorable 

 opportunity, in concert with the late lamented Commodore Burnett, during our 

 voyage of 1,200 miles along the eastern coast of Queensland, from Moreton 

 Bay to Cape York, of verifying the vivid truth of Cook's observations. 

 Every bay and headland was, at first sight, easily recognized from his graphic 

 descriptions, often from the picturesque and somewhat humorous names, for 

 example — Cape Upstart, Cape Bowling Green, the Glasshouse Mountains, and 

 the like, which he had assigned to them. In a word, the fresh explorations of 

 every year display more fully the value of Cook's discoveries, and the almost 

 prophetic foresight with which he was guided and inspired. It has been said, 

 without any exaggeration, that he stands forth as the founder of a new era in 

 nautical discovery, and as the revealer of a new world. 



