Captain Cook statue in Sydney defaced ahead of Australia's national day
A statue in Sydney of explorer James Cook, captain of the first Western ship to reach the east coast of Australia, was sprayed with red paint and damaged.
A statue in Sydney of British explorer James Cook, captain of the first Western ship to reach the east coast of Australia, was sprayed with red paint and damaged two days before Australia’s national day, authorities said on Friday.
It was the second time the statue has been defaced and vandalised in the last year. Police said that they had begun an investigation and that several items had been found near the statue.
Local councillor Carolyn Martin said the vandals may have scaled a fence around the statue using a ladder, which they left behind.
“It’s an absolute mess,” Martin told radio station 2GB. “They have splattered paint all over it, then they have managed to get to the top of the statue and they’ve knocked his hand off and also part of his face and nose.”
For many Indigenous Australians, who trace their lineage on the continent back 50,000 years and make up about 4% of the country’s population of 27 million, the Australia Day holiday is known as Invasion Day, symbolising the destruction of their cultures by European settlers.
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