Captain Cook and Queen Victoria Statues Vandalized in Melbourne

In an apparent protest against the Australia Day public holiday, two statues in Melbourne, one of Captain James Cook and the other of Queen Victoria, have been vandalized. The incident occurred in the early hours of Thursday morning, with the metal Captain Cook sculpture on Jacka Boulevard in Catani Gardens, St Kilda, sawn off at the ankles and spray-painted with the slogan, ‘The colony will fall.’ The statue was then dumped nearby.

The Queen Victoria Monument, located near the city centre on St Kilda Road, was also defaced, with red paint liberally sprayed on the monument and the same message, ‘The colony will fall,’ daubed on it. City of Melbourne cleaners have been working to remove the paint from the monument.

Victoria Police‘s Melbourne Crime Investigation Unit is currently investigating the criminal damage to both statues. Witnesses reported seeing several people loitering near the Captain Cook statue around the time of the incident. The bronze statue of Cook, unveiled in 1914 and donated to the suburb of St Kilda, commemorates Cook’s exploration of the east coast of Australia during his first voyage.

The incident has drawn the condemnation of Premier Jacinta Allan, who stated that the vandalism had no place in Victorian society. Allan pledged to work with the council to repair and reinstate the damaged statue. Similarly, Victorian Opposition Leader John Pesutto criticized the act of vandalism and emphasized the importance of peaceful and respectful demonstrations.

This is not the first time that colonial statues in Melbourne have been targeted. The Captain Cook statue at Fitzroy Gardens and a monument to Melbourne founder John Batman at the Queen Victoria Market have previously been vandalized. These incidents have raised discussions about Australia Day, with some Indigenous Australians finding the public holiday connected to Aboriginal dispossession deeply troubling.

The City of Melbourne employs roving security staff to patrol its statues, particularly around Australia Day, to prevent such acts. Authorities also reminded the public to report any information related to the incident to Victoria Police or Crime Stoppers.