Outrage at damage to Walgett Memorial

The Walgett war memorial statue has been damaged by vandals. Photo contributed

President of the Walgett RSL Sub-branch Robert Ward has described damage to Walgett’s War Memorial as ‘the most disgusting low life act’.

Mr Ward said that the Walgett Memorial Park and its monuments are there for everyone and should not be violated by vandals.

“We suspect kids were involved – I couldn’t see any adults being that uncaring. We have servicemen and women from all races who are memorialised from our region,” Mr Ward said.

The town’s Anzac memorial was deliberately damaged earlier last Thursday.

Officers attached to the Central North Police District found that a statue of an Anzac soldier – imported from France in 1922 – had its arm damaged and its marble firearm stolen.

The vandalised statue was the original soldier, which was on the monument in the main street, before being knocked off by a truck in 2021.

After repairs, the original soldier was restored and placed in Memorial Park and a new statue placed on the cenotaph in the main street. […]

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