The Lachlan Macquarie statue in Windsor’s McQuade Park was doused in purple paint, purple hand prints and a spraypainted phrase after the 5am service.
NSW Police mentioned the vandalism was reported to police after a member of the general public noticed it round 7.30am.
Officers have began investigating the incident.
“Initial inquiries suggest the act of vandalism may have been committed between 6am and 7am today,” police mentioned.
Hawkesbury Council mentioned it has performed an preliminary cleansing of the statue.
“The services of our specialist graffiti contractor will be required over the coming days,” the council mentioned.
Hawkesbury Mayor Sarah McMahon mentioned she is “disappointed” by whoever determined to vandalise the statue.
“I understand people have strong views and feelings on issues, but this is not the appropriate way to express that,” she mentioned.
“This is public property and vandalism and destruction of any kind is unacceptable.
“I anticipate the police will do their job completely.”
The statue has been subject to vandalism previously after it was sprayed with red paint in 2017.
The vandals also spray painted “assassin” among other phrases at the time.
Lachlan Macquarie was a governor of NSW from 1810 to 1821 and the statue was commissioned in 1994 during bicentenary celebrations of the European settlement of the Hawkesbury area.
But Macquarie has been considered a controversial figure like many others during colonialist times due to his treatment of First Nations people.
In 1816, Macquarie ordered soldiers under his command to kill or capture Indigenous Australians.
Source: www.9news.com.au
