Ancient sculpture damaged by 'reckless behaviour' in Wellington

The wrecked Moai sculpture in Lyall Bay. Photo: Wellington City Council/Facebook

An ancient Easter Island sculpture has been badly damaged by "reckless behaviour" in a Wellington suburb.

Wellington City Council posted a picture of the smashed Moai sculpture on its Facebook page, saying the three tonne stone statue would need to be removed from its spot in Lyall Bay by crane for repair.

"Unfortunately, our Moai sculpture in Lyall Bay has been damaged by some reckless behaviour," the post said.

"Our team are on the case and will be removing it with a Hiab crane soon. We'll endeavour to fix it and return it to its rightful place as soon as possible."

The Moai was gifted by the Chilean government to the people of New Zealand in 2004.

Moai are monolithic human figures carved from rock on Rapa Nui (Easter Island) between the years 1250 and 1500.