Prof. Tracy Ireland discussed the fact
as described in an article in The Age -
that -

Surely the 250th anniversary of Captain Cook's
landing should not be about sanctifying or
demonising him.

If we're going to celebrate the landing then
can't we acknowledge his naval achievements together
with highlighting the 80,000 plus years of
Indigenous culture which undermined his unenlightened
18th century presumption of "Terra Nulius" .

Cook can be a meaningful historical symbol after all.

It's simply a question of balance.

There's a variety of opinions in letters written to The
Age newspaper on the topic that may be of interest:

http://www.theage.com.au/national/james-cook-there-can-be-a-balance-struck-in-our-history-20180514-h101br.html

Some celebrate Christmas, some don't, some celebrate Naidoc week, some don't. some celebrate mardi gra, some see it as perversion. No one is forcing anyone to celebrate anything. If you don't want to celebrate Cookie don't. Talk about first world problems. Cookie is to blame because without him young girls would be for uncles, people would be dying of hunger and there would be no sit down money. We would be a third of fifth world country.

Dear Hasbeen,

Yuo write;

"They should give thanks every morning & night that the white man arrived when he did."

Absolute tosh. The entire aboriginal population of Victoria was reduced to a few hundred within 30 years. Early settlers talked about how physically fit, how intelligent and how gifted with humour they were. 'Superior in fact to most classes of Englishmen'. This is while the vast majority of the English race where living desperate lives of poverty, starvation and crime in rat and disease infested cities like London.

Actually it was not Captain Cook who brought this
country out of being a cultural backwater.
A study of history would help.

THEY define themselves, you don't.
Loudmouth,
Can Non-Aborigines then define where their Tax Dollars & wasted Good Will go ?

Paul,

In your OP you said,
""...I now once more hoisted English Coulers and in the Name of His Majesty King George the Third took posession of the whole Eastern Coast from … Latitude [38° South] down to this place by the Name of New South Wales together with all the Bays, Harbours Rivers and Islands situate upon the said coast..."

Cooks intentions were clear, as far as he was concerned Australia was British, and that was that..."

As he took possession of the East Coast how did he take possession of the whole of Australia for Britain?

Which flag do you think that he hoisted, the English Flag or the Union Flag, he says that he hoisted English colours so I presume that as a ship's captain he knew which flag was which.