Outrage as Gisborne Cenotaph defaced with red paint

The red-paint vandalism of the lions at the Gisborne city Cenotaph has been described as a "disgrace" and "the lowest of the low". Photo / Gisborne District Council

• Gisborne’s Cenotaph war memorial was vandalised with red paint, sparking widespread outrage.
• Police and the council are investigating the incident, which happened overnight Monday.
• Returned and Services Association president Trevor Jukes called the graffiti an “absolute disgrace”.

Widespread outrage has been expressed at a graffiti attack on Gisborne city’s Cenotaph war memorial.

Overnight Monday, red paint was daubed over the faces and bodies of the four marble lions at the monument on the Esplanade near the Gladstone Road Bridge.

The vandalism has been described as “an absolute disgrace”, and those responsible “the lowest of the low”.

This is the sight contractors found when they were called to the Cenotoph after police reported the vandalism to the council. All four lions were targeted, this one the worst of them. Photo /Gisborne District Council

As well as the paint on the lions, red paint droplets and paint splashes have been left on the tiles around the Cenotaph surrounds.

Police were notified on Tuesday morning and reported the attack to the Gisborne District Council.

Recreational Services contractors immediately sent out staff to try to remove the paint.

All four lions round the Cenotaph were targeted in a graffiti attack that has outraged members of the community.

The Gisborne Herald understands the job proved difficult, as the lions are made of marble.

The Cenotaph, a heritage site, had only recently been extensively refurbished before one of the biggest Anzac Day dawn services for years.

Returned and Services Association president Trevor Jukes said the graffiti attack was an “absolute disgrace”.

“It denigrates the ancestors of the people who did it,” Jukes said.

“Desecrating a memorial like that is desecrating their parents, their grandparents and extended whānau into infinity.

“When they meet their maker, the people they have offended will be waiting for them, and by crikey, they will deal to them,” he said.

“They have brought their family name into absolute disgrace.”

The worst-hit lion looked like this after a couple of hours of cleaning work by contractors. Photo / Murray Robertson

The district council labelled it “disgraceful” vandalism on its Facebook page.

The post quoted Gisborne Mayor Rehette Stoltz saying it was “extremely disappointing”.

“It’s disgraceful to see this. We expect better for and from our community. It’s a shame the behaviour of a few impact so many.”

The post went on to thank those who reported the damage and “we encourage you to continue to call out and report vandalism when you see it”.

Members of the public spoken to by the Gisborne Herald on Tuesday expressed similar sentiments.

“The people who did this really are the lowest of the low,” one man said.

“Not a good look for Gisborne is it,” another said.

“How could someone even think to do that. It’s like an attack on the community, and the memory of the veterans remembered on the monument.”

Police are asking for information about the attack.

Contact police on 105 or via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.