Commemorating James Cook’s arrival, Australia should not omit his role in the suffering that followed | Paul Daley

He arguably paved the way for the terrible experiences of generations of Indigenous people

James Cook's critics can relish the irony that a global pandemic has diminished the planned lavish commemorations of his east coast Australian arrival 250 years ago today.

Many Indigenous people and supporters of their causes and sensibilities rightly view the lieutenant as the doorman for so many ills that followed, including the smallpox epidemic of 1789 that killed as many as seven in 10 Aboriginal people of the new colony for which Cook's arrival paved the way.