Cook's Country

Captain James Cook is credited as being the person who ‘discovered’ Australia. He was certainly the first European to officially step foot on Australian soil (in 1770) when he sailed his ship, Endeavour, along the coastline and landed at Botany Bay – near where Sydney stands now. He then claimed the land as British territory – and the rest is history. Cook was from Yorkshire, in the north of England, and he grew up in a small cottage in the town of Great Ayton (where, incidentally, I visited back in the 1990s, when I was researching the story of Captain Cook for a fifth grade class I taught in England). That entire cottage is now right here in Melbourne. I remember, back in the 90s, being disappointed not see Cook’s house in Great Ayton. Well – twelve years later, I’ve made it! The building was carefully taken down, brick by brick, in 1933 and shipped to Melbourne where it was re-built in the middle of Fitzroy Gardens, near the Treasury building in downtown Melbourne. It is an important building in the history of Australia – an equivalent, of sorts, to Washington’s house or the Pilgrim’s first settlements.
It was great to tour the cottage – and see this little piece of England, so far from its original home. Even the British flag was flying proudly above it.
I then continued on towards the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) – a historic cricketing venue and also centerpiece of the 1956 Olympic Games and the 2006 Commonwealth Games. Impressively, it can hold 100,000 spectators – which it generally does on big days, such as the Boxing Day (December 26th) test match (cricket) – or the AFL Grand Final (Aussie Rules football) – which is Australia’s equivalent of the Superbowl. It also hosts international soccer games, rugby matches and even rock concerts. Funnily enough, cricket fans here in Australia are all focused on London, England right now – and Lord’s Cricket Ground (as am I!). For the next few days, Australia are playing England in what is known as the ‘Ashes’ series of cricket. This is THE big cricket series. Think of it as the cricket equivalent of a World Series between the Yankees and the Red Sox – and you’ll get the idea. It’s strange for me to be watching this series form the backyard of the ‘enemy’!
But at least here there is full, live television coverage – which I never get back in the USA. So, most evenings, before going to bed, I’m happily relaxing in my hotel watching live cricket from London – where, as we speak, the English are doing rather well. This is particularly satisfying for me, as Australia tend to beat England - often rather comprehensively.