We warmly invite you to attend this BWB Talk with Tony Ballantyne, author of Captain Cook and the Unsettled Afterlives of Empire.
James Cook is one of the most contested figures in Aotearoa New Zealand’s past. Today, his name evokes not only exploration and scientific endeavour but also the violence of first encounters and the enduring legacies of colonisation. In Captain Cook and the Unsettled Afterlives of Empire, Tony Ballantyne asks what these shifting narratives on Cook reveal about history and the making of national identity.
Please join us at the National Library | Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa to hear Tony Ballantyne discuss his new book – a major contribution to our understanding of Cook and the unsettled legacies of empire.
When: Tuesday 25 August 2026, 6pm (doors open 5.30pm)
Where: National Library Auditorium, Corner of Molesworth St and Aitken St (best entrance via Aitken St)
The talk will be recorded and available to view on our YouTube channel after the event.