The heads of two statues of the Australian Prime Minister are beheaded between twenty sculptures that were damaged when the police started looking for the responsible vandals.
The police were told that the busts were destroyed on Thursday between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. on the Prime Ministers Avenue in the Botanical Gardens of Ballarat.
The heads of two statues, reportedly from the former Labor Premiers Paul Keating and Kevin Rudd, have been removed and stolen, the police said.
The name plates of the 18 remaining images are covered with spray paint.
Ballarat Botanical Garden Foundation said it was 'deeply sad' by vandalism.
“The Avenue is a source of pride for the local community and is a place of national interest since the opening by the Governor of Victoria in 1940,” the group said on Instagram.
“This flagrant violation of this crucial part of their story and heritage is not only a heavy blow to the community, but for everyone who works and takes care of the gardens.”
The police asked everyone who saw suspicious behavior in the area.
Dozens of sculptures exhibited to the Prime Ministers Avenue in the Ballarat Botanical Gardens (photo) were damaged early on Thursday morning by Vandals
The heads of two images, one of which is reportedly containing the sculpture of former Labor Prime Minister Paul Keating (photo), were removed and stolen
A statue of Captain Cook in Sydney is covered with red paint and damaged (photo) while the tensions rise in the run -up to Australia Day on Sunday
A spokesperson for the city of Ballarat also condemned the act and said that “this kind of meaningless damage is completely unacceptable.”
“It is not only extremely expensive for our taxpayers and will deduce money from critical municipal services, but it also detracts from Ballarat as a city,” they said.
The avenue contains a collection of busts of the first 29 prime ministers of Australia, each with a bronze cast mounted on a polished granite base.
The exhibition was the scene of vandalisms for a long time, in which the busts of Tony Abbott and John Howard in 2021 were sprayed with red paint.
It is because a statue of Captain Cook in Sydney is covered with red paint and is damaged as tensions rise in the run -up to Australia Day on Sunday.
From the statue, which stands on Belmore Road in Randwick, was torn off during the attack and parts of the face were destroyed.
It is the second time in twelve months that the sandstone image is destroyed and the attack is condemned by Randwick councilor Andrew Hay.
Randwick municipal councilor Dr. Carolyn Martin said that vandals of 2GB with a staircase had climbed the fence around the statue and had left it in an 'absolute mess'.
“It's absolutely shameful behavior. We are all absolutely shocked, “she said.
