A decapitated statue head of King George V, missing since June, was reportedly spotted at a Melbourne gig this weekend and that’s one cameo none of us could’ve seen coming.
In case you missed it, the bronze statue was beheaded and covered in red paint, coinciding with the annual King’s Birthday public holiday on June 9, 2024. Authorities have been unable to track it down.
Now the head may have been spotted at a gig for Belfast hip-hop trio Kneecap on Friday.
The rappers revealed in an Instagram post that an attendee brought the pretty ~unique~ item to the show. (You legend.)
“Some madman dropped by with a huge King George’s head so he could hear a few tunes for our last Melbourne show!” they wrote.
“Allegedly his head was cut off last year in the city..…anyways he was put on stage for a few tunes and then whisked away…remember every colony can fall 🔥”
It’s pretty on-brand for Kneecap, who played Golden Plains Festival and a free gig at Federation Square, and are known for their unapologetic brand of anti-colonial hip-hop.
The statue head may have briefly emerged earlier this year on 26 January, when an Instagram post claimed to show the same head on fire at what appears to be a backyard barbecue.
The head may have made an appearance earlier this year. (Source: Instagram)
Last year, a video of the statue beheading posted to social media in June was overlaid with the Sex Pistol’s song “God Save The Queen” and showed another person writing “the colony will fall” at the statue’s foot.
The City of Melbourne council estimated it would cost about $10,000 to clean the statue and even more to restore it, per the AAP.
Another Captain Cook statue was left just a little legless last year. (Source: Twitter)
A bunch of statues have been targeted in recent years. This includes the Captain Cook statue and cottage in Fitzroy Gardens just last month when three people were captured on CCTV allegedly trying to cut off its head and spray-painting “anti-Captain Cook messages” in red paint.
They were attempting to use an angle grinder to cut off the statue’s head but left abruptly after security notified them they were being recorded. The statue had been reinstalled two weeks earlier after it was targeted in 2024.
A Captain Cook statue in St Kilda was also cut off at the ankles in the lead up to January 26 last year, leaving only Captain Cook’s boots on display.
Meanwhile, over in Sydney, another relic of Captain Cook was splashed with red paint and the hands and nose were knocked off just before January 26 this year.
Kneecap’s Instagram post has been popping off over the weekend, with over 500 comments so far on the pretty memorable incident.
“I wish I could like this post more than once,” one user joked while another remarked this could be their next album cover.
“Narrm undefeated,” another Instagram user added.
With input from the AAP.
Lead image: Instagram / Twitter
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