This is a tricky time to be talking about sailing clubs with Royal Warrants. Last summer Captain Cook was amputated below the knee in the Catani Gardens right beside RMYS. In April near the St Kilda Pilot Beacon, four Canary Island palms were deliberately set alight. These trees, from the 1930’s, are a signature of the seaside promenade. Perhaps it’s a comment on European landscaping or random arson. Then King George V was decapitated on his recent birthday in Kings Domain. Regardless of this febrile climate, VCAT got on with its task and handed down a decision ‘of interest’ that clarified often misunderstood heritage guidelines.

"It gives us an opportunity to move forward as a nation and as a community … By not creating those opportunities for those conversations, we stay in the status quo."

“All too often, we expect history to be definitive, to pass judgement and announce a verdict. But understanding Cook is about much more than apportioning praise or blame.”