Wednesday, December 24, 2025

Catch Me Sculpture stolen from Keast Park in Frankston

Another whimsical statue has been stolen recently.  Catch Me by Keld Moseholm, was part of Sculpture by the Sea, at Keast Park in Frankston. 

The sculpture had originally been installed in 2022 near the Seaford Library and had only just been re-located to Keast Park. A plaque describes the sculpture as representing An image of human behaviour where dramatic situations often occur and which can be both tragic and comical.

Keld Moseholm (1936-2023) was a Danish sculptor and was known for his rounded figurative sculptures that balance humor and gravity, portraying humanity as small spheres in a larger game.


Catch Me sculpture at Keast Park, Frankston
Image: https://www.imaginefrankston.com.au/seaford/catch-me-keld-moseholm


The sad remains
Image: City of Frankston Facebook post of December 23, 2025  
 https://www.facebook.com/FrankstonCityCouncil

The City of Frankston's Facebook post on this theft notes that the remains of the sculpture have been removed while investigations are underway.  They also state that Public art belongs to all of us and one of the comments on this Facebook post confirms this idea of public ownership -  When this sculpture was at Seaford Library a lot of little kids would hug the sculpture. No judgement just hugs.  

Sadly this is just another example of a delightful, well loved sculpture being maliciously stolen from the community. 

Should you have any information about the Catch Me sculpture, contact the police or please leave a comment below or see 'Contact us' tab for anonymous emailing.

Should you actually possess the item and wish to return it its rightful owners or custodians, please contact us.


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Monday, December 15, 2025

Bronze Bather sculpture stolen from Parkdale

The Bronze Bather statue by Anne Ross was stolen from outside the Parkdale Railway Station on  November 12, 2025. The statue and a companion piece, collectively the Windsong Sculptures,  were installed in December 2024 as part of the re-development of the Parkdale Station. 


Bronze Bather statue by Anne Ross
Image: https://baysidenews.com.au/2025/12/10/search-for-missing-statue-underway/


The artist Anne Ross, was interviewed for the Level Crossing Removal website and spoke about her inspiration for the pieces -
There are numerous symbols I included in the works, inspired by my research and personal experience of the local area.

The one-piece bathing suit and cap, worn by both figures references local international swimming champion Annette Kellerman, who moved to the area with her parents in 1902. She was one of the first women to wear a one-piece bathing suit, which was controversial at the time, and she advocated for a women’s right to wear a one-piece starting her own line of bathing suits, among many other successful pursuits.

There is also my interpretation of a miniature representation of the Shirley Burke Theatre ‘The Winter Garden’, to acknowledge the important work and time the former Mayor dedicated to shaping Parkdale. Shirley moved to Bethel Avenue in Parkdale with her parents in the early 1950s and became deeply involved in driving many community projects, serving as mayor in the 1960s – always acting with the community at heart.

The sculptures also feature boats, an obvious connection to the bay, as are the birds. The three birds may also be seen as representing flight into the future. There are five buildings included within one of the pieces. These may be viewed as the five original shops in Parkdale, the old bathing boxes, some stables or houses – all elements that are part of Parkdale’s past and present. And of course, the dog represents the beloved local Parkdale pet population.

All that remains of the Bronze Bather sculpture are  her feet. 


Image: Tim Richardson,  M.P., Facebook page from 13/11/2025
https://www.facebook.com/richardson4mordialloc


This is a very sad end for a delightful statue, the inspiration for which came from the local area. 

Should you have any information about Bronze Bather, contact the police or please leave a comment below or see 'Contact us' tab for anonymous emailing.

Should you actually possess the item and wish to return it its rightful owners or custodians, please contact us.

References
  • Introducing Parkdale Station's New Public Art, December 13, 2024. Level Crossing Removal Project website, read. 
  • New Artwork at Parkdale Station, January 10, 2025. Level Crossing Removal Project website, read.
  • Search for Missing Statue under way, The News, Bayside, December 10, 2025, read  
  • Anne Ross Artist and Sculptor https://www.anneross.com.au/
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Tuesday, June 3, 2025

John Batman Monument vandalised

 In 1881, a bluestone monument was erected at the Old Melbourne Cemetery, later the Queen Victoria Market carpark,  to mark the burial site of John Batman, often described at the time as a ‘founding father of Melbourne’. In 1835 Batman sought to expand Tasmanian  grazing lands into Victoria. He made his controversial ‘treaty’ with Kulin elders 6 June 1835 and returned to Launceston to arrange the new settlement. However, upon his return to Victoria months later, he discovered that John Pascoe Fawkner had already established a settlement on the site of Melbourne. As his health deteriorated, Batman settled on Batman’s Hill, near what is now Southern Cross Railway Station. He passed away from syphilis just four years later, in 1839. In 1922, the Old Melbourne Cemetery was de-registered, and the monument was relocated to the north bank of the Yarra River at Swan Street Bridge. Batman’s remains were exhumed and re-interred at Fawkner Cemetery - ironically named in honour of his rival. The monument was eventually returned to its original location at Queen Victoria Market.


The John Batman monument at the Queen Victoria Market
Image: City of Melbourne Collection
 https://citycollection.melbourne.vic.gov.au/john-batman-memorial/


The inscription on the monument states:
JOHN BATMAN / BORN AT PARRAMATTA N.S.W. 1800 / DIED AT MELBOURNE 6TH MAY 1839 / HE ENTERED PORT PHILLIP HEADS / 29TH MAY 1835 / AS LEADER OF AN EXPEDITION WHICH / HE HAD ORGANISED IN LAUNCESTON V.D.L. / TO FORM A SETTLEMENT AND FOUNDED ONE / ON THE SITE OF MELBOURNE THEN UNOCCUPIED. / THIS MONUMENT WAS / ERECTED / BY PUBLIC SUBSCRIPTION.

On 25 January 2025, the statue was vandalized and broken in half during the early hours. The monument has long been the subject of controversy. Batman was a key figure in Victoria’s colonial establishment but the original inscription on the monument incorrectly claimed that Melbourne was "then unoccupied." To address this inaccuracy, a plaque was added in 1992 acknowledging that Aboriginal people had originally occupied the land. A second plaque was installed in 2004 further clarifying the historical errors in the monument’s depiction.


The vandalised monument
Image:  Rachael Ward/AAP PHOTOS -
https://nit.com.au/27-01-2025/15924/controversial-monument-of-coloniser-vandalised

Not all colonists applauded John Batman. John Glover, a Tasmanian neighbour of Batman, once described him as "a rogue, thief, cheat and liar, a murderer of blacks and the vilest man I have ever known."

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Monday, May 26, 2025

Betsy the Cow - Stolen

Vanished Victoria records the disappearance of both 'High' Art and 'Low' Art. The most recent case of low or commercial art which has vanished is Betsy the Cow, used to advertise her owners, Lely Australia, a dairy farm equipment company.

Betsy was stolen from outside Lely Australia, in Peterpaul Way, Truganina on April 27, 2025 at 1.20am.  Police have footage of Betsy being loaded into a trailer behind a Holden VE Commodore station wagon.

Betsy is life size, made of fibreglass, is red and white in colour, and has Lely written on her side. She is said to be worth $3,500.

Why does it matter that Betsy, essentially an advertising gimmick, was stolen? Because she was bright and fun to look at, and even though her 'home' was an industrial estate in the west of Melbourne, she surely bought joy to local workers and those who passed by.

Contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 if you have any information.


Betsy, on the night she was stolen. 
Image - Victoria Police. https://wyndham.starweekly.com.au/news/help-find-betsy/


Betsy and colleague in happier times.
Image: https://wyndham.starweekly.com.au/news/help-find-betsy/


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Thursday, May 22, 2025

A Campaign of Beheading

Domain Gardens Headless King George V

The 1952 statue of King George V by William Leslie Bowles, located in Kings Domain Gardens, by Linlithgow Avenue appeared to be bereft of its head on the Kings Birthday public holiday, in the dark hours of 10th June 2024. The statue was also daubed with a splattering of red paint with words: "the colony will fall".


The headless statue
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-17/stolen-king-george-statue-head-at-kneecap-concert-melbourne/105061054


As reported in the media in March 2025,  the bronze head resurfaced on stage at the performance of the Northern Irish hip hop band, Kneecap at the 170 Russell Street venue.


The head on stage at a concert in March 2025
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-17/stolen-king-george-statue-head-at-kneecap-concert-melbourne/105061054 

An Australia Day 2025 social media posting with the head on a bar-be-que. 


The King's head on a bar-be-que.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-17/stolen-king-george-statue-head-at-kneecap-concert-melbourne/105061054 

The group responsible were interviewed by SBS in May 2025. Read a transcript of the interview, here.

Busts of Prime Ministers stolen

At 1:23 a.m. on 23rd January, 2025 busts of former prime Ministers Paul Keating and Kevin Rudd were also stolen from the Ballarat Botanical Gardens, and 18 other statues vandalised in the Prime Ministers Avenue. Damage was estimated to be in the order of $140,000.

Days later, on Australia Day, a photo of a masked person dressed in black holding a bust and a sledgehammer was posted on social media with a caption referring to returning "the land to its rightful owners"


The stolen busts of Paul Keating and Kevin Rudd
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-17/stolen-king-george-statue-head-at-kneecap-concert-melbourne/105061054


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