Two colonial-era monuments in Melbourne's Flagstaff Gardens have been vandalised overnight, with police believing machinery was used to pull down the Pioneer Monument, a sandstone obelisk erected in 1871 to commemorate the first European burial ground on the site. The monument was found smashed into pieces beside its plinth on Thursday morning, daubed with the words “land back” and “death to Australia” in red paint, along with an inverted red triangle—a symbol that has been associated with Palestinian resistance and, in some contexts, with Hamas.
The nearby Separation Memorial, which was erected in 1950 to mark the centenary of the formal separation of the Port Phillip colony (now Victoria) from New South Wales, was also defaced with red paint. Police said the incidents occurred between 10pm on Wednesday and 6am on Thursday, and a crime scene has been established around both monuments as investigations continue.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan condemned the vandalism as “a disgrace”, urging anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers. “The groups who continue to commit these crimes must face the full force of the law,” she said. Melbourne Lord Mayor Nick Reece told 774 ABC Radio Melbourne that the behaviour “will not and cannot be tolerated”, adding: “To deface and say 'death to Australia' across a monument which was actually celebrating a great step forward for democracy … is just moronic.”
The attack comes ahead of Australia Day on 26 January, a date that has previously been a flashpoint for such vandalism. In January 2024, a statue of Captain Cook in St Kilda's foreshore gardens was sawn off at the ankles and spray-painted with the slogan “The colony will fall.” Thursday also marked a national day of mourning for the 15 people killed in a terror attack at Bondi Beach in December, in which two gunmen allegedly inspired by Islamic State targeted a Hanukah event. Allan referenced this, saying, “Even on a day about love and unity, these people can't help but introduce hate and destruction.”
Reece said the council had increased security at statues and monuments across Melbourne in the lead-up to 26 January, with cyclone fencing and cameras in some areas, but these were not in place at Flagstaff Gardens overnight. “We'll obviously be reviewing arrangements across the remainder of our collection and we'll be stepping things up in the days ahead,” he said.
