Australian locality removing often-vandalized monument to British explorer James Cook

An Australian local government has decided against repairing an often-vandalized monument to renowned British explorer James Cook because it would be destroyed again.

MELBOURNE, Australia — An Australian local government has decided against repairing an often-vandalized monument to renowned British explorer James Cook because it would be destroyed again. But the mayor on Wednesday rejected accusations that the vandals have won.

Statues and monuments to the 18th-century naval officer are common in Australia and are often defaced by opponents of Britain’s settlement of the country without a treaty with its Indigenous people. In 1770, then Lt. Cook charted the Australian east coast where Sydney would become the first British colony on the continent.

The granite and bronze monument to the master navigator and cartographer in an inner-city Melbourne park was vandalized days after the anniversary of the first British settlers’ arrival at Sydney Cove was commemorated on Jan. 26. Opponents of Australia Day celebrations denounce the public holiday as “Invasion Day.” There are growing calls for the country to find a less divisive national day.

The monument in Melbourne’s Edinburgh Gardens was snapped at its base and spray painted with the words “cook the colony.”

Mayor Stephen Jolly, head of the Yarra City Council, which is a municipality near the heart of Melbourne, said his fellow councilors had voted unanimously on Tuesday night against spending 15,000 Australian dollars ($9,700) on repairing the monument, which remains in storage.