Updated ,first published
Vandals toppled a monument to Victoria’s early colonial settlers in the early hours of the National Day of Mourning for the Bondi massacre victims.
Police said they believed vandals used machinery to pull down the Pioneer Monument at Flagstaff Gardens at some stage between 10pm on Wednesday and 6am on Thursday, causing it to break into several pieces.
The words “land back” and “death to Australia” were scrawled on a broken piece of stone and on the steps of the monument, which memorialises a burial ground of early colonial settlers.
An inverted red triangle – a symbol historically connected to anti-fascist and other left-wing political movements, and more recently linked to the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas – was also sprayed on the monument.
The Separation Memorial, erected in Flagstaff Gardens in 1950 to mark the centenary of Victoria’s separation from New South Wales, was also vandalised with red paint.
“A crime scene has been established, and the investigation is ongoing,” Victoria Police said.
Premier Jacinta Allan called the vandalism a disgrace.
“Even on a day about love and unity, these people can’t help but introduce hate and destruction,” she said.
“Victoria Police will investigate, and I’m asking anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers. The groups who continue to commit these crimes must face the full force of the law.”
Opposition leader Jess Wilson also condemned the “abhorrent act on a day our state is mourning the murder of 15 innocent people”.
“My thoughts are with the Jewish community today as we grieve, reflect, and remember the victims of the Bondi Massacre,” she said.
There were numerous similar acts of vandalism in previous years, targeting Melbourne monuments, statues and even trees that mark Australia’s colonial history.
A statue of Captain James Cook in St Kilda’s Catani Gardens was cut off at its ankles in 2024 and the words “the colony will fall” were spray-painted on the plinth. The same statue was doused in red paint in 2022.
The Pioneer Monument by Samuel Craven was erected at Flagstaff Gardens in 1871 to honour some of the earliest pioneers of the colony, whose remains were buried near the site.
The gardens were high ground from which the early colonists viewed incoming ships.
Anyone who witnessed the incident at Flagstaff Gardens, has information or CCTV or dashcam footage of the area is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit an online confidential report at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au.
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