A statue with more than 100 years of history has been destroyed by vandals overnight, with pieces of it found scattered across Walgett Memorial Park in NSW on Thursday.
CCTV footage taken by Walgett RSL sub-Branch captured the moment the statue was smashed. The video reportedly showed six children of varying ages entering the park shortly before midnight.
One of them climbed onto the statue, rocking it back and forth as the other children push it until it toppled onto the ground. The group were reportedly filmed fleeing from the park.
“You won’t be able to publish what my immediate reaction was, I can tell you that,” Walgett RSL sub-Branch president Robert Ward said.
“I’m totally disgusted.”
The Man on the Monument was imported from France in 1922 and was put in the memorial dedicated to Walgett’s World War I veterans.
Ward added that the damage to the statue came less than a month after another act of vandalism to a fountain in the same park.
“[These kids] really need to realise their grandfathers, and grandparents, have most likely served [in conflict],” he said.
“They’re a part of this memorial.”
Walgett Shire Council is working with NSW Police to identify those responsible, with the council condemning the act as “attack on the entire Walgett community”.
NSW Police have also released a statement saying they spoke with a group of children located near the park after the incident, as investigations continue.
“For a century, that soldier stood at the heart of Walgett,” Walgett Shire Council Mayor Jasen Ramien said in a statement shared on Facebook.
“It watched as local men and women answered the call of service across generations, in the Second World War, Korea, Malaya and Borneo, Vietnam, the Gulf, peacekeeping deployments, Afghanistan and Iraq, and in contemporary service that continues today.”
“It watched the sons and daughters of this district, Aboriginal and non Aboriginal, 3rd and 4th generation Australians, the sons and daughters of immigrants, and immigrants themselves who called Australia, and Walgett, home, step forward to serve, and in too many cases, never return.”
“It stood as a permanent reminder that sacrifice is not a distant concept for Walgett, it has names, faces, families, and lasting grief.”
The statue had previously been damaged in 2021, after a B-triple truck crashed into it. The council recovered as many pieces of the original as they could and restored it.
In 2025, the restored statue was damaged again, with its arm damaged and rifle stolen.
“I am angry, and I am heartbroken. Walgett deserves better than this, and we will not accept it as normal,” the mayor said.
“We will pursue accountability, we will restore what we can, and we will stand united in respect for those whose names and service this memorial was built to honour.”
Images: Facebook
