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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jun/14/two-women-arrested-after-captain-cook-statue-defaced-in-sydneys-hyde-park
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| Two women arrested after Captain Cook statue defaced in Sydney's Hyde Park | Two women arrested after Captain Cook statue defaced in Sydney's Hyde Park |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Two women allegedly found with spray cans have been arrested after a Cook statue was defaced | Two women allegedly found with spray cans have been arrested after a Cook statue was defaced |
| Two women have been arrested after a Captain Cook statue in Sydney’s Hyde Park was defaced. | Two women have been arrested after a Captain Cook statue in Sydney’s Hyde Park was defaced. |
| Police were alerted to the vandalism about 4am on Sunday and arrested two women –aged 27 and 28 – nearby on College Street in the city centre, NSW police said in a statement. | Police were alerted to the vandalism about 4am on Sunday and arrested two women –aged 27 and 28 – nearby on College Street in the city centre, NSW police said in a statement. |
| The women were allegedly found with several spray cans in a bag. | The women were allegedly found with several spray cans in a bag. |
| They have been taken to Day Street police station where they are expected to be charged. | They have been taken to Day Street police station where they are expected to be charged. |
| The bronze statue, which dates back to 1879, depicts the navigator who charted the east coast of Australia in 1770 holding a telescope. | |
| It comes as Victorian police are also investigating the defacing of statues in Ballarat. | It comes as Victorian police are also investigating the defacing of statues in Ballarat. |
| The statues of former Australian prime ministers Tony Abbott and John Howard were sprayed with red paint on Saturday morning. | The statues of former Australian prime ministers Tony Abbott and John Howard were sprayed with red paint on Saturday morning. |
| They have since been covered and fenced off and a conservator will assess the damage on Monday. | They have since been covered and fenced off and a conservator will assess the damage on Monday. |
| A Captain James Stirling statue in Perth, Western Australia was on Friday also defaced and a 30-year-old man has been charged with criminal damage or destruction of property. | A Captain James Stirling statue in Perth, Western Australia was on Friday also defaced and a 30-year-old man has been charged with criminal damage or destruction of property. |
| The statue’s neck and hands were painted red and an Aboriginal flag was painted over the inscription at the base. | The statue’s neck and hands were painted red and an Aboriginal flag was painted over the inscription at the base. |
| Historical monuments across the world have been toppled over the past two weeks as Black Lives Matter protesters march through the streets to call out racism following the death of African American man George Floyd in Minneapolis last month. | Historical monuments across the world have been toppled over the past two weeks as Black Lives Matter protesters march through the streets to call out racism following the death of African American man George Floyd in Minneapolis last month. |
| In Australia, people have defied public health warnings amid the Covid-19 pandemic and turned out to protest Indigenous deaths in custody and to rally in support of the BLM movement in Sydney, Perth, Darwin, Adelaide and Melbourne. | In Australia, people have defied public health warnings amid the Covid-19 pandemic and turned out to protest Indigenous deaths in custody and to rally in support of the BLM movement in Sydney, Perth, Darwin, Adelaide and Melbourne. |
| On Sunday, the trade minister, Simon Birmingham, responded to what he labelled the “very sad” and “inappropriate vandalism” of statues of former prime ministers. | |
| “It shouldn’t occur and no doubt it will be investigated,” he told Channel Seven’s Weekend Sunrise. | |
| Birmingham said Ballarat’s avenue of former prime ministers “celebrates them all regardless of their politics, and it’s a key part of our history as a nation”. | |
| “None of us are perfect and none of the figures in history were perfect either. | |
| “But just because of their imperfections, their failings or failures, that doesn’t mean you go about vandalising or tearing down those statues. We should learn from history, not seek to airbrush it or shove it away.” |