Australia Day Protesters Vandalize Melbourne and Sydney Statues

Because they had long seen the nation’s national holiday as a reminder of colonial tyranny, some Australians were not in the mood to celebrate it on Sunday. By damaging sculptures of British settlers and an English ruler, some demonstrators went one step farther in their hatred.

The destruction in Sydney, Melbourne, and Canberra was a new indication that Australia Day, which honors the founding of a penal colony in the late 18th century by a British navy in Sydney Harbor, had arrived.

Critics point out that the festival initiated centuries of persecution of Indigenous people, despite the fact that some Australians celebrate it with pool parties and barbecues. Protests are used by those who would rather refer to it as Invasion Day or Survival Day to express their disapproval.

This week, a monument in Sydney was covered with crimson paint. Captain James Cook claimed a portion of the Australian continent for the British crown in 1770. Its nose and hand were also cut off. After enduring a similar attack the previous year, the statue has been repaired.

Early Saturday, a monument honoring John Batman, an adventurer who founded Melbourne on Aboriginal-occupied territory, was demolished. The words “land back” were also spray-painted on a memorial honoring Australian troops who lost their lives in World War I by protesters in Melbourne.

Additionally, a statue of King George V in the capital city of Canberra was covered with graffiti on Sunday. Someone had painted the words “The colony is falling” in crimson on its base.

Australian officials condemned the vandalism.

According to a report by television station 9News, Victoria’s state premier, Jacinta Allan, stated, “We should find it in our hears and in our minds to respect differences of view but not let it turn ugly.”

No one has been arrested or charged in relation to the damage in Sydney and Melbourne, police representatives from the states of Victoria and New South Wales stated Sunday afternoon. An inquiry was not immediately answered by the Canberra police.

For decades, people have demonstrated against Australia Day. The worldwide Black Lives Matter movement, which saw individuals in the US, UK, and other countries overthrow statues they seen as representations of racism and oppression, served as a catalyst for recent demonstrations.

Many Australian authorities are not hesitant to publicly acknowledge their nation’s racist colonial background. For instance, a section on “truth-telling” on the City of Melbourne’s website discusses creating “a shared understanding of the impacts of colonization and dispossession on Aboriginal peoples.”

However, some Indigenous activists feel that simply admitting previous wrongs is insufficient. When King Charles III traveled to Australia last year, that was evident.

Shortly after Charles, who still has the ceremonial title of head of state in the former British colony, concluded his speech to Parliament, a voice cried out, “You are not our king.” Return our land to us. Return the items you took from us.