Statues have history of attacks
Nearly a quarter of New Zealand’s public statues have been attacked, defaced or stolen – some multiple times, a study has found.
A range of weapons have been used in attacks on public statues over recent decades across the country including an axe, a concrete cutter a hammer and paint.
Researchers from the University of Otago, Wellington examined all 123 statues of named individuals identified on outdoor public land in New Zealand during a survey in 2018 and 2019, and found almost a quarter had been attacked at least once.
The attacks are often quite violent.
Six statues have been decapitated a total of 11 times, while three were completely destroyed in attacks. Others have had noses cut off or been splattered with red, blue or gold paint.
The statue subject’s role in past injustices and militarism appeared to increase the risk, lead researcher professor Nick Wilson said.
Examples of attacked statues over the years include the statue of King George V in Matakana, which has been decapitated five times. A statue of World War I military leader Field Marshal Kitchener in Auckland, which was decapitated in 1931, was taken down and never replaced.
An anti-war demonstrator attempted to topple a new bronze statue of military hero Charles Upham in Amberley in North Canterbury with a concrete cutter and was stopped by people nearby.
A statue of military leader Admiral Sir Gordon Tait was stolen from Timaru and never recovered.
The study is thought to be the first in the world to systematically examine attacks on public statues over a whole country.
There are no recorded attacks on statues of sports players. Statues of royalty, military personnel, politicians, explorers, and those involved in colonialism and harm to Ma¯ ori were much more likely to be attacked, the study found.
The researchers found statues mostly represented historical and current power, many were of white males, and under-represented women, Ma¯ ori, Pacific and Asian people.
Six per cent of statues are of Ma¯ ori, despite Ma¯ ori comprising 15 per cent of the population, and 1 per cent each commemorated those of Asian or Pacific ethnicity, despite them making up 12 per cent and 7 per cent of the population respectively.