In Melbourne, the Captain Cook statue has been vandalized.
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Captain Cook statue has been vandalized during ‘Invasion Day’.
On Australia Day, a monument of Captain Cook in a Melbourne park was freshly painted red.
On Wednesday morning, the monument in Catani Gardens in St Kilda was vandalized.
Just before 8 a.m., Victoria Police officers and City of Port Phillip Mayor Marcus Pearl came to examine the damage.
Protesters have attacked the statue in recent years, and it was surrounded by guards last year.
On January 25, 2018, it was painted in pink paint as a protest.
On Wednesday, Mr. Pearl informed 3AW radio that the monument hadn’t been vandalized since 2019.
“I’m disappointed,” he continued, “I’m disappointed, we had a very beautiful, respectful service with our traditional owners this morning and that was a fitting occasion I thought.”
“To come down and see this, certainly I was a bit disappointed but the rate payers are going to have to pay to get this cleaned up.”
The council intended to “concentrate on traditions that bring our community together, not drive us apart,” according to Mr Pearl.
Several Invasion Day protest demonstrations have been scheduled for Wednesday in Victoria, including a virtual dawn service after the regular in-person march across the city was canceled due to COVID-19.
Before an expected march to Parliament House, protesters will meet at Canberra’s Aboriginal Tent Embassy, which is celebrating 50 years of campaigning.
