A beloved bronze statue of explorer Matthew Flinders has been cut down and stolen from a Mornington Peninsula park, leaving locals furious.
The bronze statue at the entrance to Mornington Park was cut off at the ankles on Monday night in an attack similar to several others carried out by far-left extremist anti-Australian vandals in Melbourne in recent years.
“It is with great sadness to announce that the Matthew Flinders bronze statue in Mornington, Victoria, has been destroyed by mindless, uneducated cancel culture vandals. I can’t begin to describe how angry this makes me feel right now,” one local said in a Facebook group dedicated to the great explorer.
Others pointed out the statue was located a short distance from the local police station and blamed the soft-on-crime Labor government, while another wrote “immigration kills culture”.
If previous cases are anything to go by, the culprits will proudly display their captured statue from an ‘anonymous’ account, SBS will give them another puff piece, and the Police will be ‘investigating’ into perpetuity. You do not saw off a large solid metal statue, carry it away and store it somewhere without leaving a trace in 2026.
The lack of concern or empathy shown towards the collective interests of Australians while we’re still in the majority, is mind-blowing. It doesn’t take a genius to consider how it will be if we fall into minority status.
— British Australian Community (@Brit_Aus_Com) October 7, 2026
Deputy mayor Paul Pingiaro called the attack “disappointing”, but told the Herald Sun the statue may have been stolen for scrap metal.
“Times are really tough and a lot of people are struggling,” he said.
“That’s a lot of valuable bronze just sitting there.”
Liberal MP for Mornington Chris Crewther said “the destruction and defacing of our history and heritage has to stop”, and that he hoped the statue could be found and repaired.
Anglo-Celtic advocacy group the British Australian Community also condemned the vandalism, and pointed out there have been 23 similar incidents in 2026 alone.
“Where’s the urgency? Where’s the security funding? Where’s the outrage from our political class?” they asked.
“If previous cases are anything to go by, the culprits will proudly display their captured statue from an ‘anonymous’ account, SBS will give them another puff piece, and the Police will be ‘investigating’ into perpetuity.
“You do not saw off a large solid metal statue, carry it away and store it somewhere without leaving a trace in 2026. The lack of concern or empathy shown towards the collective interests of Australians while we’re still in the majority, is mind-blowing.
“It doesn’t take a genius to consider how it will be if we fall into minority status.”
Header image: Left, the vandalised statue. Right, before the attack (Facebook).
