Yarra City Council Considers Not Repairing Heavily Damaged Captain Cook Statue

The statue was toppled and vandalised with red paint on the weekend.

The remnants of a Captain Cook statue in St Kilda, Melbourne, Australia on Jan. 25, 2024. A Captain Cook statue in Melbourne has been hacked off at the ankles the day before Australia Day. AAP Image/Diego Fedele

The Yarra City Council in Melbourne is considering not repairing a statue of explorer Captain James Cook, which was destroyed just after Australia Day.

This comes after the statue was found broken on the ground in Edinburgh Gardens, Fitzroy North, covered in red graffiti.

On Sunday morning, visitors to the park found the memorial painted with the words “Cook the Colony.”

A council officer is recommending that the statue be taken away and permanently removed from the City of Yarra’s collection.

But Yarra Residents Collective, a group representing residents in the community, is concerned that letting vandals achieve their objectives through committing crimes sent “the wrong message.”

An email from council officers cited by The Age reveals staff are assessing formal eradication of the statue.

“Due to health and safety concerns, the memorial will be removed from location and placed in storage, and the remaining damaged base will be marked with safety cones and assessed for removal,” the council officer said.

“Due to the seriousness of the new damage, officers strongly recommend that the memorial be removed from location and that the object be deaccessioned from the collection in line with policy processes. Deaccessioning is the formal process of removing objects from a collection.”

However, in a post to X, Yarra Residents Collective raised concerns removing the memorial following the vandalism sets a bad precedent.

“Regardless of one’s views on the statue itself, the precedent set by letting vandals win and telling people, it’s ok if you want something changed in Yarra, just go and cause criminal damage to it is a terrible precedent,” the group said.

“This is the council and councillors saying vandalism and committing crime is ok to get your own way, while street fronts in Yarra are worse than ever.

Back in 2022, a $22,000 banana structure in the City of Yarra was removed for repairs and replaced with a giant yellow pot after vandalism.

Councillor Stephen Jolly referenced this incident in a post to X on Jan. 30, claiming that some of the same people who cheered on the destruction of a banana statue were now upset about the activists who painted on the Cook statue.

“It’s striking how people who cheered on the destruction of the banana statue two years ago are so upset with activists who painted on the Cook statue,” he said.

“Back then they said they didn’t want the banana replaced as it'd be a waste of money, but now want the Council to do exactly that.”

The Epoch Times understands council officers removed the graffiti on Monday morning, along with the monument.

The Council is yet to make a final decision on whether they will reinstate the momument.

A Yarra City Council spokesperson told The Epoch Times, “Last week, a monument in Edinburgh Gardens commemorating Captain Cook was vandalised. For community safety, Council officers have since removed the monument.

“In the meantime, Council will assess the damage to determine next steps and keep the community informed.”

The incident follows a Captain Cook statue in a separate suburb of Melbourne, St Kilda, being defaced ahead of Australia Day on Jan. 25.

The statue was found with the words “the colony will fall” in red paint, and was cut at the ankles and defaced right before Australia Day.

However, Port Phillip Council, which represents St Kilda, said it could not condone “vandalism of a public asset” and was arranging for the statue to be repaired.

“We are disappointed by the vandalism of the Captain Cook statue in Catani Gardens, St Kilda,” Mayor Heather Cunsolo said.

“We understand and acknowledge the complex and diverse views surrounding Australia Day. We can’t condone, however, the vandalism of a public asset where costs will be ultimately borne by ratepayers.

“Council officers have collected the statue for assessment and the graffiti has been removed. The plinth was damaged by the statue being pulled over so we are arranging for the stonework to be repaired.”

Captain Cook is a renowned explorer who charted and claimed the eastern coast of Australia for Britain on his first voyage between 1768 and 1771.

Former Labor Senator Not Surprised

Meanwhile, former Labor Senator Stephen Conroy told Sky News Australia that he was disappointed with the vandalism but not surprised.

“The Yarra City Council’s not a council I have a lot of time for; it’s controlled by the left and a bunch of greenies,” he said.

“So, it’s no surprise to see that they would use this as an excuse not to repair the monument.”

Victorian Police on Jan. 29 told The Epoch Times they were investigating the damage to the plaque in Edinburgh Gardens.

“Police are aware of damage to a plaque in Edinburgh Gardens on Alfred Crescent in North Fitzroy. The plaque has been pushed over and sprayed with red paint. It is yet to be established when the damage took place, and the investigation is ongoing,” a spokesperson said.