A Hobart City Councillor has offered a $1,000 reward for “information that leads to convictions” after a controversial statue in Franklin Square was vandalised.
Councillor Louise Elliot made the offer on social media on the eve of an announcement on the fate of the William Crowther statue.
The statue of the former Tasmanian Premier is set to either remain in place or be removed following a decision from the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal that will be handed down on Wednesday.
The City of Hobart moved to take down the statue in 2022, a decision endorsed by the Tasmanian Heritage Council, but opposed by Elliot and others, including former Alderman Jeff Briscoe.
Images taken on Tuesday afternoon show both the statue’s legs had been partially cut through with an angle grinder.
“I condemn the damage to the Crowther statue. The statue was paid for by the people of Hobart in 1880’s and the people of Hobart have again be fighting to save it,” Elliot said.
“The arrogance to think that you can destroy public property for your own narrow minded activism is astounding.”
Tasmania Police are understood to have launched an investigation into the incident.
The statue’s removal has been a contentious issue since it was first proposed, with calls for it to go due to its association with the decapitation of Aboriginal man William Lanne.
The Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre has previously expressed their disappointment at the appeal process and accused those behind it of attempting to slow down the removal process.
