Anger over kangaroo vandalism

A CONCRETE kangaroo in Lismore has been through some serious wear and tear during its 30-year life, but the headless ornament may now have reached its end.

An upset Norm Clapham of Dawson Street in Lismore looks forlornly at his 30-year-old kangaroo statue that was recently decapitated by vandals. Picture: DAVID NIELSEN

A CONCRETE kangaroo in Lismore has been through some serious wear and tear during its 30-year life, but the headless ornament may now have reached its end.

Katie and Norman Clapham were given the kangaroo by their daughter when she left the comfort of her family home and embarked on a journey into the big wide world before marrying some 30 years ago.

Since then it has sat in the front garden of the Clapam’s Dawson Street home and was the target of a few vandalism attacks, but the damage was never so severe it couldn’t be repaired.

However, the latest act of vandalism has left the kangaroo decapitated and defeated.

“A few years ago some louts picked it up and carried it to the end of the street,” Mr Clapham said.

“Then a few years later some other people knocked its head off and left it on the front lawn.

“My son managed to drill a hole into the middle of the kangaroo, insert a steel pole and then cement its head back on.

“However, this time they knocked the head off and took it with them and we haven’t seen it since.”

The elderly couple has lived at their Dawson Street home since 1970 and are devastated over the damage to their ornament.

Three weeks after the decapitation and the kangaroo still stands headless and the Claphams are unsure what to do with it.

Mr Clapham suggested ‘getting one made up or putting a sign on it’, and even offered a reward for the kangaroo’s lost head.

“We offered the young boys around here $10 if they could find it, but it’s not been found,” he said.

“I thought it could be in a gutter somewhere, or in the bushes where someone might have thrown it away after they got bored playing with it.

“We just want it back.”

Originally published as Anger over kangaroo vandalism