Artist calls for a Sydney council’s logo of Captain Cook to be altered to include a young Indigenous girl
- The Sutherland Shire Council logo features the image of Captain James Cook
- Mosaic artist, Tim Cole proposed for an Indigenous girl to be included in logo
- Mayor Carmelo Pesce said it was a ‘great idea’ but discussions needed to be held
- Cole created image 12 years ago after photographing a young Indigenous girl
An artist is fighting to have an image of a young Indigenous girl feature alongside Captain James Cook in a Sydney council’s official logo.
Mosaic artist Tim Cole proposed the change to the Sutherland Shire Council in the city’s south last week, with Mayor Carmelo Pesce calling it a ‘great idea’.
Mr Cole first created the tile mosaic of a girl standing alongside Captain Cook 12 years ago and has only just put forward his proposal in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement.
The proposed logo by mosaic artist Tim Cole was created 12 years ago and features the image of a young Indigenous girl he photographed at La Perouse in Sydney
‘It sounds like a great idea and it looks beautiful, but it’s something we need to bring the community along with us and have some community consultation before we do anything,’ Mayor Pesce told 2GB radio on Wednesday.
‘The councillors will have a chat and if we decide to go any further we’ll go to a community consultation and see what the residents of the Shire think about it.
‘People tearing things down is just terrible but if you can bring people along with you and do it together, I think that’s the way to go.’
Mr Cole first created the mosaic piece in 2008 after speaking with elders from the Dharawal people.
The Dharawal were Indigenous Australians who lived in clans scattered along the Sydney basin and were the first people to make contact with Captain Cook.
The current Sutherland Shire Council logo features the image of Captain James Cook
The young girl is based on a real person who Mr Cole photographed with the permission of her parents in La Perouse, in south-east Sydney on National Sorry Day.
‘The presence of Cook on the logo is fitting and appropriate, but the absence of the Dharawal people is unfortunate,’ Mr Cole told The Leader.
‘I look at it is a ‘win win’. You keep Cook, but you also acknowledge the Dharawal culture.
‘Cook is a great guy, but he was only here for an hour. He’s not the full story – he’s only half of the story.’
Captain James Cook landed in Botany Bay in April, 1770.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted the Sutherland Shire Council for comment.
Mr Cole’s proposal comes amid the Black Lives Matter movement which saw Australians protesting against Indigenous deaths in custody (pictured: protest in Adelaide on June 6)