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".
An Australia Day 2025 social media posting with the head on a bar-be-que.
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.
The headless statue
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
An Australia Day 2025 social media posting with the head on a bar-be-que.
The King's head on a bar-be-que.
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
Sources:
- King George statue in Melbourne beheaded and spray-painted red in vandalism attack https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-06-10/king-george-monument-vandalism/103960776
- Severed head of King George V statue may have resurfaced at Irish rappers’ Melbourne gig by Ben Smee. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/mar/16/severed-head-of-king-george-v-statue-may-have-resurfaced-at-irish-rappers-melbourne-gig-ntwnfb
- Stolen statue head of King George V makes surprise appearance at Kneecap gig in Melbourne. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-17/stolen-king-george-statue-head-at-kneecap-concert-melbourne/105061054
- Inside the anonymous group targeting Australia's colonial statues. https://www.sbs.com.au/news/podcast-episode/inside-the-anonymous-group-targeting-australias-colonial-statues/duiih35wm
- Rudd and Keating statues decapitated in mass vandalism attack on 20 prime ministers’ busts by Rafqu Touma. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/jan/24/rudd-and-keating-statues-decapitated-in-mass-vandalism-attack-on-20-prime-ministers-busts
- Prime ministers' heads severed and stolen from bronze statues in Ballarat Botanical Gardens by Kellie Lazzaro and others.https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01-24/prime-ministers-busts-decapitated-ballarat-australia-day/104854022
