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Key Points
- A statue of Captain Cook has been vandalised in Sydney’s east.
- It comes after the heads of two prime ministerial busts were severed and stolen in a regional Victorian city.
- Police in both states are investigating the incidents.
A Captain Cook statue in Sydney’s east has been vandalised for the second time in 12 months, while the heads of two prime ministerial busts have been severed in Victoria.
The Cook statue on Belmore Road in Randwick was splashed with red paint, and vandals had also cut off its hand and nose, leaving it in what Randwick City councillor Carolyn Martin said was an “absolute mess”.
The attack comes just two days out from .
“It’s absolutely disgraceful behaviour; we’re all horrified,” Martin told Sydney’s 2GB radio on Friday, adding that it would be a “big effort” to restore it.
NSW Police said it was investigating. In a statement, it said it responded to reports of vandalism on Friday morning and that officers have seized a number of items at the scene.
“A crime scene has been established, which will be forensically examined by specialist police,” the statement read.
“Police are working with Randwick Council to assist with the removal of the graffiti.”
It’s the second time in 12 months that the Captain Cook statue in Randwick, Sydney, has been vandalised. Source: Supplied / Randwick City Council
On 26 January 1788, the First Fleet set ashore in Sydney Cove, where Captain Arthur Phillip raised the Union Jack flag and .
But for many First Nations people, the arrival of the First Fleet is not a day of celebration. It is regarded as the beginning of a brutal colonisation of their land and a symbolic memory of their loss of sovereignty, family, and culture.
The fleet’s arrival came 18 years after Captain James Cook sailed away from Australia after .
Heads of Paul Keating, Kevin Rudd statues removed
It comes after vandals removed and stole the heads of former prime ministers Paul Keating and Kevin Rudd at the Ballarat Botanical Gardens in regional Victoria.
The Thursday attack occurred sometime between 2am and 5am, Victoria Police said in a statement, and had left a damage bill of more than $140,000.
Police said on Friday that 18 other statues were damaged, with their nameplates covered in spray paint.
The bronze busts, which are mounted on polished granite pedestals, line Prime Ministers Avenue at the gardens.
Police are unsure why Keating and Rudd’s statues were specifically targeted.
Police say its unknown why the statutes of former prime ministers Paul Keating and Kevin Rudd were targeted. Source: Supplied / City of Ballarat
“This isn’t just an act of vandalism or graffiti,” Senior Sergeant Brad Hall told reporters in Ballarat.
“This was an attack against the Ballarat community. The Botanical Gardens are a much-loved community location for everybody.”
The City of Ballarat wrote on social media that it strongly condemned “graffiti and vandalism of any kind”.
“This type of senseless damage is completely unacceptable,” it said.
“It is not only extremely costly to our ratepayers … but it detracts from Ballarat as a city.”
Political cartoonist and sculptor Peter Nicholson, who supplied the mould for several of the 29 busts including those of Keating and Rudd, told ABC Radio Melbourne the vandalism was “disgraceful” but the statues should be able to be repaired.
With the Australian Associated Press.
