The Captain Cook statue commemorates the explorer and navigator, Captain James Cook (1728-79). This bronze statue set on a stone plinth was designed in 1914 by Sir Thomas Brock who also sculpted the Queen Victoria Memorial.
It is located close to the Admiralty Arch and is the first sculpture on entry to The Mall.
The inscription on the plinth reads:
"Captain James Cook / R.N. F.R.S. / Born 1728 Died 1779 / Circumnavigator of the globe explorer of / the Pacific Ocean he laid the foundations of / the British Empire in Australia and New Zealand / charted the shores of New Foundland and traversed / the ocean gates of Canada both East and West // Unveiled by H.R.H. Prince Arthur of Connaught / on behalf of the British Empire League 7th July 1914"
Sailors are quick to point out that Cook is standing on a rope – a cardinal sin on a ship.
