The statue of William Crowther was vandalized and sawn off at the ankles in what seems to be part of a larger movement to remove effigies of figures associated with colonization. The statue was found face-down in Franklin Square in Hobart CBD, with graffiti reading “What goes around” and “decolonize” on the plinth. An earlier attempt to vandalize the statue was stopped before completion.
Despite the vandalism, the decision to remove Crowther’s statue had already been made by the council in August 2023. The City of Hobart announced that the removal of the colonial statue would be the first of its kind in Australia. The decision was challenged in the Tasmanian Tribunal of Civil and Administrative Tribunal (TASCAT), but objections claiming it would detract from the site’s heritage value were denied.
William Crowther, a former Tasmanian state premier, was known for his involvement in the discredited field of phrenology. He infamously removed the skull of an Aboriginal man from a hospital in 1869. Discussions with Tasmania’s Aboriginal leaders led to the decision to remove his statue due to its troubling history.
Other councils in Australia have chosen not to remove vandalized statues of historical figures, such as Lachlan Macquarie and Captain James Cook. These incidents reflect a broader debate over the presence of colonial symbols in public spaces. Please rewrite this sentence.
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