The monument of King George V in Melbourne's King's Domain has been beheaded overnight.
The 72-year-old statue was found with its head cut off on Monday morning, with police called to King's Domain on Linlithgow Avenue just after 9am.
"It appears the head of the statue has been removed and red paint thrown at the monument," a Victorian police spokesperson said in a statement.
In addition to removing the statue's head and dousing it with red paint, vandals also spray painted "the colony will fall" on its plinth.
Vandalism on Kings birthday!
King George statue outside of the Sidney Myer music bowl is red and headless @theheraldsun @theage @9NewsMelb @Channel7 @Channel10AU @Jacquifelgate pic.twitter.com/wfqMfrlhd4
— Ava (@Ava24612529) June 9, 2024
The decapitation is the latest in a spate of attacks on colonial monuments in Victoria this year.
An identical anti-colonial phrase was graffitied on St Kilda's captain cook statue and beside Melbourne CBD's James Cook statue in January and February respectively, with a similar phrase - "the colony can fall" - spray painted on Geelong's Queen Victoria statue in March.
Similar incidents involving the vandalism of colonial monuments have recently occurred in the ACT and Tasmania, with Hobart's William Crowther statue toppled last month.
The vandalism coincides with the annual King's Birthday public holiday, observed on Monday in all Australian states and territories apart from Queensland and Western Australia.
Video footage of the incident surfaced online on Monday, with a person wearing a head torch and high visibility jumper seen cutting the statue's head off before it toppled to the ground.
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Victoria Police confirmed they are investigating the incident.
Member of the public with information regarding the incident are urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report online at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au.
