IN the lead-up to Anzac Day, a security camera is monitoring Inverell’s cenotaph, after it was the target of vandals.
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The low act of vandalism hit the newly refurbished Inverell Cenotaph on Thursday, April 16. Sometime during the night, the culprits used dark blue paint to tag the monument with an expletive about two-feet long.
“Luckily they didn’t get up the steps where all the gold-leaf and everything’s been done and all the names. That was my main concern when they rang me,” RSL sub-branch secretary Graeme Clinch said.
The mark was discovered and removed by council staff before it set.
The cenotaph underwent preservation by monument specialists T Wrafter and Sons of Brisbane. They replaced parts of the steps and gold-leafed the names and moved the honour rolls into chronological order.
Mr Clinch said that Wrafters felt the graffiti was unlikely to cause any lasting effects.
He said the War Memorial in Wollongong was also vandalised on Saturday night.
As a result of the defacement, Inverell Shire Council, that is responsible for maintenance of the memorial, has installed a mobile 24-hour security camera, and organised regular police and security services to patrol the spot through day and night.
“We would really put out a request to the public here to be very vigilant over the next few days by driving past and keeping an eye out,” Mr Clinch said.