‘Death to Australia’: Vandals attack iconic Colonel Light statue on Montefiore Hill
Graffiti scrawled across Adelaide’s most iconic statue and a city war memorial has been derided as foolish dribble from idiots hurting the Black Lives Matter movement.
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A statue of Adelaide founder Colonel William Light and the Boer War Memorial outside Government House have been vandalised in what has been described as an “idiotic” publicity stunt.
It comes as the State Government “condemned” the vandalism on Light’s statue.
Adelaide City councillor Anne Moran told The Advertiser she reported the graffiti on the statue of Colonel Light on Montefiore Hill in North Adelaide earlier this morning following a call from a constituent.
The tags included “Death to Australia” and a sticker that said “we refuse to go back to normal, normal was the problem”.
The tags appear to relate to the Black Lives Matter movement.
Many statues linked to colonial oppression and slavery have been vandalised in the United States and United Kingdom in recent days – although in some cases protesters have targeted historical figures who fought against racial prejudice.
Cr Moran said vandalism was “foolish dribble” by an offenders who “are using the current situation to legitimise their graffiti”.
“I am unaware of poor old Colonel Light having any historical link to black lives not mattering,” Cr Moran said.
“It is just a bunch of idiots and I feel sorry for the Black Lives Matter people because it will get a negative response.”
A State Government spokeswoman said the offenders faced serious penalties, including up to 10 years’ imprisonment or a maximum $7500 fine.
Adelaide Lord Mayor Sandy Verschoor it was “disappointing” to see vandalism and graffiti in public spaces.
The council did not answer questions about whether there are CCTV cameras in the area to identify offenders.
SOS Blak Australia SA Action Group community member and Black Lives Matter Adelaide protest co-host Natasha Wanganeen said she did not support vandalism and was unaware of the offender.
However, she continues her call to have Light’s statue removed and replaced with an indigenous person or people who have fought for indigenous rights.
“If it is at this point where people are spraying stuff and defacing things, that is a clear message to me that they do not want (the statue) there either,” Ms Wanganeen said.
