Australian police are investigating after a statue of Captain James Cook was covered in red paint and disfigured, ahead of the Australia Day weekend.

It is the second time in 12 months that the statue in Sydney has been vandalised.

Australia Day is a national holiday that is held each year on 26 January – the anniversary of Britain’s First Fleet landing at Sydney Cove in 1788. Many Indigenous Australians say the date causes them pain.

The local council in Randwick – the suburb where the statue is located – described the vandalism as “a disservice to the community and a disservice to reconciliation”.

Councillor Carolyn Martin told Sydney radio station 2GB that the vandals had knocked off one hand and parts of the face and nose.

The statue – which was first unveiled in 1874 – was previously targeted in February last year, when it was covered with red paint and had parts of its sandstone damaged. Works to repair and restore it were completed a month later.

There are several Captain Cook statues across Australia, and others have also been vandalised on or around 26 January.

In 2024, one in Melbourne was cut down on the eve of the holiday, while its plinth was spray-painted with the words “the colony will fall”. Two years earlier the same statue had been splashed with red paint, while in 2018 it was graffitied with the words “no pride” and had an Aboriginal flag placed next to it.

Cook charted Australia’s east coast in 1770, laying the groundwork for the later decision to send the First Fleet, which was led by Captain Arthur Phillip.

Australia Day is a contentious holiday for some, particularly among those in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities who view it as a reminder of the dispossession and displacement of their people.

To many Australians though, it is celebrated as a day of nation-building and achievement. Polling suggests a majority of people are supportive of keeping the holiday, despite suggestions it should be changed to a different date.