Massacre order poster on coloniser statue in court test
Alex Mitchell |
Pasting a piece of paper to a controversial former governor’s statue is not protected by freedom of political communication, a judge has ruled.
Activist Stephen Langford stuck a piece of A4 paper with former NSW governor Lachlan Macquarie’s 1816 order to imprison and kill First Australians on a statue of the man himself located in Hyde Park.
The message stuck on the statue quoted from the order and read “all Aborigines from Sydney onwards are to be made prisoners of war and if they resist they are to be shot and their bodies to be hung from trees in the most conspicuous places near where they fall so as to strike fear into the hearts of surviving natives”.
Langford had been found guilty on seven charges of affixing a placard or paper on premises without consent at the Downing Centre Local Court, before appealing that verdict.
But Judge Christine Mendes dismissed that appeal in the District Court on Thursday, declaring an implied constitutional right of freedom of political communication did not mean the law could be ignored.
Archival records show Macquarie’s military actions included the slaughter of Aboriginal people including women and children, with little regard for human life or the rules of combat.
Yet the statue describes him as a “perfect gentleman”.
Langford said the court decision was “unsatisfactory” and he remained “enraged” by the statue.
“There remains rubbish information on the statue, it’s just lauding him,” he told AAP.
“I’m not saying he was the worst in the world … but on a statue you have the truth, not bloody bollocks.”
Judge Mendes found free political communication did not deny lawmakers the right to sanction trespassers in order to protect public property.
But she accepted his rights had been burdened by the law and acknowledged his stance as “commendable”.
“For many citizens, Mr Langford’s interest in raising public awareness about the legacy of Australia’s colonial history and the absence of First Nations perspectives of history in the public domain is highly commendable,” Judge Mendes said.
Wiradjuri woman Yvonne Weldon, the first Aboriginal councillor in the City of Sydney’s 180-year history, said she stood with Langford and commended his advocacy.
“There is not a single publicly funded statue commemorating a First Nations person in the City of Sydney … meanwhile there are more than two dozen statues around the city centre commemorating colonial figures,” she said.
“This imbalance is unacceptable and it reflects the erasure of First Nations history, culture and perspectives more broadly.”
In 2023, Cr Weldon pushed for a review of inscriptions on 25 statues to address offensive descriptions of colonial figures’ deeds.
But Langford said no council action had followed.
“Nothing has happened, that’s my main beef,” he said.
“It’s meant to be democratic what we have at town hall … I’m asking them to put the truth on the statues.”
Lilli Barto, who was one of a group of supporters with Langford in court, said the outcome showed the priorities of the “colonial legal system”.
“The state would rather expend months worth of police resources and court resources prosecuting a man over a glue stick and a bit of paper … than to just change the plaque on the statue and actually acknowledge the violence,” she told AAP.
Judge Mendes dismissed Langford’s charges without conviction.
AAP
