SYDNEY — Vandals in Australia poured red paint over a statue of famed British explorer James Cook, officials said Friday ahead of large anti-colonial protests expected over the weekend.
Statues of colonial figures have become common targets ahead of Australia Day on Jan. 26, a date that marks the arrival of European settlers at Sydney Harbor in 1788.
Thousands of demonstrators typically hold mass rallies on the holiday, decrying the historical plight of Australia's Indigenous peoples at the hands of colonial masters.
The sandstone statue of Cook in eastern Sydney was doused in red paint and had its hand and nose smashed off, local mayor Dylan Parker said.
Parker said the same statue of Cook — who claimed Australia's eastern coastline for Great Britain in 1770 — was targeted in February last year.
Local politician Andrew Hay said the vandals were "low lives" seeking to make a "political point."
Local councilor Carolyn Martin said the vandals may have scaled a fence around the statue using a ladder, which they left behind.
"It's an absolute mess," Martin told radio station 2GB. "They have splattered paint all over it, then they have managed to get to the top of the statue, and they've knocked his hand off and also part of his face and nose."
For many Indigenous Australians, who trace their lineage on the continent back 50,000 years and make up about 4 percent of the country's population of 27 million, the Australia Day holiday is known as Invasion Day, symbolizing the destruction of their cultures by European settlers.
Many Indigenous groups want Australia to drop celebrations or move the date, which marks the anniversary of the arrival of the British First Fleet in 1788.
Every year on Jan. 26, protesters rally against the mistreatment of Indigenous people, who are by most socio-economic measures the most disadvantaged people in the country.
A survey by the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper on Friday showed the support to keep Jan. 26 as Australia's national day surged to 61 percent from 47 percent over the past two years, signaling a shift in voters' sentiment.
Thousands are expected to gather at protests in Sydney and Melbourne for Australia Day on Sunday, drawing attention to the many hardships still faced by Indigenous Australians.