Statues of colonial figures in Sydney’s CBD will be reviewed by council after calls from Indigenous leaders to acknowledge their damaging past.
The City of Sydney will review 25 statues to “reassess the one-dimensional accounts of past events” and may add alternate plaques and signage to the figures.
A plaque of former Governor Lachlan Macquarie in Hyde Park described him as a “perfect gentleman”.
Indigenous leaders say the plaque is misleading.
“It doesn’t talk about that he actually told the soldiers and others to actually, you know, kill Aboriginal people,” City of Sydney Councillor and Wiradjuri woman Yvonne Weldon told 9News.
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“These people actually did create great harm to the First Nations across this country so their representation needs to be with an honesty.”
Historians and First Nations people say the statues provide a “lopsided” account of Australia’s past.
“To fully understand that history then we need to hear their (Indigenous) voice in these monuments,” University of Sydney Historian James Findlay said.
Proposed changes will be made in consultation with Sydney’s Aboriginal and Public Art Advisory panels.
Weldon told 9News that the next step forward should be erecting statues of significant Indigenous leaders throughout Sydney.
