Statues Vandalized Ahead of Australia Day Celebrations

In the lead-up to the national holiday, Australia Day, unknown individuals have defaced and damaged statues in Sydney and near Melbourne. In Sydney, the statue of explorer James Cook was targeted, while in Ballarat, near Melbourne, statues in the Prime Ministers Avenue were vandalized.

The sandstone statue of Cook lost a hand and nose and was defaced with red paint. Cook was the first European to reach the east coast of Australia in 1770.

In Ballarat, the heads of former Prime Ministers Paul Keating and Kevin Rudd were removed, and approximately twenty other statues were smeared with paint.

Source: NOS

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