A statue of Captain James Cook in Sydney’s eastern suburbs has been splashed with red paint and its hand removed days before Australians celebrate their controversial “Australia Day” on Sunday.

Series editor John Farren writes: In the late 18th century Captain James Cook led three great voyages of discovery which would push the borders of the British Empire to the ends of the earth.

Halcyon leucocephala, grey-headed kingfisher. Annotated watercolour painting by Georg Forster, made during James Cook’s second voyage to explore the southern seas, 1772-75. Captain James Cook's ...