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| 'No pride in genocide': vandals deface Captain Cook statue in Sydney's Hyde park | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Three statues in Sydney’s Hyde park – including one of Captain Cook – have been attacked by vandals following days of fierce public debate about whether they should be changed. | |
| The words “change the date” and “no pride in genocide” were spray-painted on the Captain Cook statue, and similar words were scrawled on a monument to Lachlan Macquarie, the fifth governor of New South Wales. A monument to Queen Victoria was also targeted. | |
| Police have launched an investigation into the “malicious damage” in Hyde Park, which they believe happened between 2am and 3am on Saturday. | |
| “Three crime scenes have been established throughout the park and inquiries are continuing,” a spokeswoman said. | “Three crime scenes have been established throughout the park and inquiries are continuing,” a spokeswoman said. |
| The graffiti attack comes just days after the Indigenous broadcaster Stan Grant called for the inscription on the Cook statue – that he discovered the territory in 1770 – to be changed. | |
| Grant described the graffiti as “appalling” and “disgraceful”, telling Fairfax Media it damaged the cause of Indigenous Australians. | |
| Statues of James Cook, Lachlan Macquarie, and Queen Victoria has been vandalised in Hyde Park/Macquarie Street area. @7NewsSydney pic.twitter.com/G25tb0tX0Q | |
| The Australian treasurer, Scott Morrison, tweeted: “A national insult & disgrace. Does not keep one indigenous child safe, in school or end up in a job. Grow up idiots.” | |
| While debate raged in the media, many in Hyde Park remained oblivious to the controversy over the statue on Saturday. | |
| One man acutely aware of the debate’s significance, however, was Michael Richard, a trainee school teacher. | |
| Richards is planning an excursion to Hyde Park to help his students understand why the inscription causes offence. He was in Hyde Park on Saturday, just after the graffiti was cleaned from the statue, taking pictures for his class. | |
| He believes the inscription is misleading without being put in its proper historical context. | |
| “I’m personally of the view that we do need to understand ourselves as a nation before we can go forward with a clear conscience,” Richards said. | |
| “I guess if we just encourage the next generation to understand the power of words – that ‘discovered’ isn’t quite the right one,” he said. | |
| Richards said the vandalism was misguided, saying “there is a right way to do things”. | |
| One tourist lying next to the statue on Saturday said he was unaware anyone had been on the continent before the Europeans. Another was unaware of Australian Indigenous history. | |
| Richards said the statues in Hyde Park, a popular tourist attraction, should serve to teach the world about our history accurately and in context. | |
| “I guess we’ve got to bear in mind the image that we project to the world as well, it’s a little bit naive not to have it put in context,” he said. | |
| Another Sydneysider, Max Plodr, said the vandalism was wrong, but had helped to fuel debate. | |
| A national insult & disgrace. Does not keep one indigenous child safe, in school or end up in a job. Grow up idiots #auspol pic.twitter.com/DorQRPDmEc | |
| “I agree it is stupid, but it does spark conversation, but in a bit of a negative light,” Plodr said. | |
| “But it still does get a conversation started, but I think there are better ways to go about it.” | |
| The Australian prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, weighed into the debate on Friday, saying Grant was “dead wrong”. | |
| Turnbull said the vast majority of Australians would share his horror at the thought of “rewriting history” by editing the inscriptions on statues. | Turnbull said the vast majority of Australians would share his horror at the thought of “rewriting history” by editing the inscriptions on statues. |
| “All of those statues, all of those monuments, are part of our history and we should respect them and preserve them,” he told Neil Mitchell on 3AW radio. | “All of those statues, all of those monuments, are part of our history and we should respect them and preserve them,” he told Neil Mitchell on 3AW radio. |
| “By all means, put up other monuments, put up other signs and sites that explain our history.” | “By all means, put up other monuments, put up other signs and sites that explain our history.” |
| He denounced such a “Stalinist exercise” of trying white out or obliterate parts of Australia’s history. | He denounced such a “Stalinist exercise” of trying white out or obliterate parts of Australia’s history. |
| “You don’t rewrite history by editing stuff out; if you want to write a new chapter of our history, if you want to challenge assumptions in the past, by all means do so,” he said. | “You don’t rewrite history by editing stuff out; if you want to write a new chapter of our history, if you want to challenge assumptions in the past, by all means do so,” he said. |
| A City of Sydney spokeswoman said the council was also cleaning up graffiti that appeared overnight in Martin Place and Macquarie Street. | A City of Sydney spokeswoman said the council was also cleaning up graffiti that appeared overnight in Martin Place and Macquarie Street. |
| “Sites affected include the Archibald Memorial Fountain, ANZAC Memorial and statues including the Captain James Cook statue,” she said. | “Sites affected include the Archibald Memorial Fountain, ANZAC Memorial and statues including the Captain James Cook statue,” she said. |
| “NSW police have completed forensic work and City cleaning crews have commenced work to remove the unlawful graffiti.” | “NSW police have completed forensic work and City cleaning crews have commenced work to remove the unlawful graffiti.” |
| The assistant immigration minister, Alex Hawke, who is vehemently opposed to changing the date of Australia Day, condemned the attack. | The assistant immigration minister, Alex Hawke, who is vehemently opposed to changing the date of Australia Day, condemned the attack. |
| “This disgraceful extreme attack on our history &culture is shameful. Phillip& Cook were enlightened for their times,” he tweeted on Saturday. | “This disgraceful extreme attack on our history &culture is shameful. Phillip& Cook were enlightened for their times,” he tweeted on Saturday. |
| – Australian Associated Press contributed to this report |