A statue of Captain Cook sawn off at the ankles by vandals on the eve of Australia Day will be reinstated within weeks.
Melbourne's Port Phillip Council on Wednesday reaffirmed its commitment to repair and reinstate the monument vandalised at St Kilda's Jacka Boulevard in the early hours of January 25.
Photos posted to social media showed the body of the statue toppled on the grass with "The colony will fall" written in red paint on the stone plinth underneath where it usually stands.
Port Phillip Mayor Heather Cunsolo said the likeness of Cook would be reinstated within two weeks in the same location, as the council investigated ways to reduce the chance of future vandalism, including adding context to the statue.
"The colony will fall" was spray-painted on the plinth of the Captain Cook statue in St Kilda. (Diego Fedele/AAP PHOTOS)
"We are united as a council in sending a very clear message to vandals that they do not dictate which cultural public assets are allowed to stand in our city," she said in a statement.
An effort led by councillor Robbie Nyaguy to consult the community on whether another location would be appropriate for the statue to be erected was voted down.
"We need to have a proper an open conversation about our history," Cr Nyaguy told the Today Show.
"The only way we can move forward as a community is to have an open conversation ... about where we put statues, like Captain Cook and the kind of context and information we put around them."
The Captain Cook statue was also doused with red paint by protesters in January 2022. (James Ross/AAP PHOTOS)
Cr Nyaguy said the decision to reinstate the statue without community consultation was undemocratic.
"If our response is to say, we're not going to have a conversation, we're not going to provide people with a democratic and legitimate way to answer these questions, then I fear the message we're sending is we're not going to be talking to you and go out there and do the wrong thing," he said.
Premier Jacinta Allan reiterated the state government was ready to work with the council to repair the statue.
"We're pleased it's been resolved," she told reporters at state parliament.
The Queen Victoria memorial at Queen Victoria Gardens near the city was also vandalised with red paint on January 25.
The Cook statue was doused with red paint by protesters in January 2022 as an "Invasion Day" statement.