AustLit

In 1887 Alfred Dampier organised a play competition as part of the country's 1888 centennial celebrations and as a means of fostering "nativie Australian literary talent (Sydney Morning Herald 16 January 1888, 2). His dramatic company subsequently staged the winning entry The Life and Death of Captain Cook, at Sydney's Gaiety Theatre on 28 January 1888.

The author, John Perry, M.A,, had previously distinguished himself as an emerging writer, winning the 1867 Evening News Poetry Competition with his entry 'Australia.' The Sydney Morning Herald drama critic was clearly unimpressed with the play, however. In suggesting that Perry should reserve his talents entirely for the composition of prize poems instead of wandering aimlessly into the dangerous field of dramatic work, the critic draws attention to its loose and disjointed plot and describes the piece as a series of tame and mediocre scenes representing inaccurate and misleading incidents in the life of James Cook (30 January 1888, p.10).