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New South Wales Police Called In To Protect Captain Cook Statue In Sydney

New South Wales Police Called In To Protect Captain Cook Statue In Sydney

Two women have already been charged with vandalising the statue.

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie

New South Wales Police were called to protect the statue of Captain James Cook in Sydney's Hyde Park on Friday (12 June).

Amid the Black Lives Matter protests in Australia, echoing those held around the world, there have been calls for statues of colonial figures to be removed and replaced with more inclusive figures.

The Captain Cook statue in Sydney has faced such calls, and the state's police were deployed in large numbers to prevent anyone from touching it.

Hundreds of protestors had gathered in the city's Hyde Park for the Stop Black Deaths in Custody: Solidarity with Long Bay Prisoners rally.

As the large gathering came to an end, demonstrators claimed police had rolled out a Long Range Acoustic Device to disperse everyone.

The large police presence around the statue has left some people unimpressed, with comments suggesting officers could have been doing something else.

NSW Greens MP David Shoebridge wrote: "Remember this is just weeks after Australian governments stood back and allowed a 40,000 year old Aboriginal heritage site to be dynamited by a global iron ore company. Priorities."

Another protest was held on Saturday, which attracted several hundred people. Both rallies were deemed illegal due to the health advice during a pandemic and protestors were warned to stay at home. One 24-year-old was arrested for failing to comply with police orders.

However, hours later two women were arrested on Sunday morning on suspicion of defacing the Captain Cook statue.

The two women accused of defacing the statue.
Channel 7

A statement from NSW Police states: "Two women have been charged after a statue was allegedly defaced in Sydney's CBD early this morning.

"Police were alerted to graffiti on the statue in Hyde Park just after 4am (Sunday 14 June 2020). Officers from Sydney City Police Area Command attended and arrested two women - aged 27 and 28 - nearby on College Street.

"Police will allege the women were found with a bag containing a number of spray cans.

"The pair were taken to Day Street Police Station and both charged with destroy or damage property and possess graffiti implement with intent to contravene section 4(2)."

They were refused bail and appeared in court yesterday.

Featured Image Credit: David Shoebridge/Twitter

Topics: News, Australia

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