Marton's James Cook statue covered up by Rangitīkei District Council

The statue in the CBD has been covered by the Rangitīkei District Council.

The Captain Cook statue in the main street of Marton has been covered up as the country debates the place of colonial-era memorials in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Rangitīkei District Council said it was "aware of the recent sensitivities around historic statues, like the Captain Cook statue in Marton".

"Today the decision was made to conceal this statue to allow time for a formal decision to be made about its future," it said.

The statue on the corner of Broadway and Lower High Sts had been covered in plywood.

"We ask you to please respect this decision," the council said.

Marton, the largest town in the Rangitīkei District, is 37km south-east of Whanganui and named after Marton in Yorkshire, England where Cook was born.

Marton was originally called Tūtaenui but was renamed in 1869, the centenary of Cook's first sighting of New Zealand.

Public reaction on the council's Facebook page has been mixed.

One reader said "The world has gone crazy, we must remember our history and learn from it. Not forget and pretend it doesn't exist."

Another said "It's Marton's history. Leave it alone."

But others backed the move.

"Good call! With all the prejudice talk going on this is a good decision. Well done RDC."

"This makes me so proud to be a resident of this town. Thank you Rangitikei District Council for choosing ethics over popularity."

Marton is named after the birthplace of James Cook. Photo / File

Another person posted: "I'm Māori and grew up in Marton and I don't have a problem with him ... I've made peace with past traumas ... instead we should carve a pou to acknowledge one of the prominent ancestors from the area."

One person also asked if Marton's James Cook School would change its name.

Cook spent a total of 328 days along New Zealand's coastline during his three voyages between 1768 and 1779.

"Cook's relations with the Māori were frequently taut and ambivalent. He made every effort to avoid bloodshed and yet Māori were killed on all but the third voyage," the Te Ara Encyclopaedia of NZ says.

The New Zealand History website agreed, calling Cook's record "ambivalent" because despite his restraint, violent encounters still took place.

Yet Cook has also been praised for his humanity, as well as his "concern for the health of his crews and his efforts to fight off scurvy and other diseases", the Te Ara Encyclopaedia of NZ says.

Protests and attacks on one Captain Cook statue - erected at Gisborne's Tītīrangi Hill in 1969 - led to it last year being moved to the local museum.

Rangitīkei District Council's decision follows that of Hamilton City Council which made a quick decision to remove its controversial Captain Hamilton statue last week.