The 103-year-old Dorrigo cenotaph before the vandalism in April. Photo: ABC / Supplied / Bellingen Shire Council
A couple has been convicted of vandalising a 103-year-old war memorial in northern New South Wales in the days leading up to Anzac Day commemorations.
Joshua Claridge, 28, and Toni Cardow, 24, from the state's Central West were on holiday visiting family in Dorrigo when they damaged the town's marble soldier statue after an evening drinking at a pub on 19 April.
The couple surrendered to Orange police station on 24 April.
In Coffs Harbour local court on Wednesday, Magistrate Jeff Linden said the defendants were charged for "effectively desecrating a war memorial."
Damage to historic statue
One stone rifle piece was found in a Dorrigo hotel and the other was returned in the post. Photo: ABC / Supplied / Phillip Corlis
In statements to police, Claridge said he climbed onto the statue and "took hold of the rifle to pull himself up", causing a portion of the stone barrel to break off.
Magistrate Linden said Cardow's actions were also serious.
"Ms Cardow thought it was very funny to have a rifle part [from the cenotaph] shoved down her pants and jokingly indicated it was a penis," he said.
"In my view, a specific deterrence is needed."
Court documents said the pair told police they intended to return the stone rifle barrel to the monument, but "there were too many people around to do so discreetly"/
Instead, they posted it to the Dorrigo RSL Club the following day.
Court documents also revealed a worker at the pub found a second piece of marble in the hotel the following morning and took it to Dorrigo RSL Club.
Defence solicitor Carlo Bianchino told the court the pair had "extreme remorse for what happened", demonstrated by Claridge's negotiations with Bellingen Shire Council to pay the insurance excess of $A25,000 ($NZ27,400) for the damage.
He told the court Cardow felt she had been "villainised" on social media following the incident.
"[She] hopes the community of Dorrigo can forgive them for their grave mistakes," Bianchino said.
The defence asked the magistrate to record no conviction and instead order a compensation payment.
But the magistrate convicted Claridge of intentionally or recklessly destroying or damaging property and wilfully damaging a war memorial.
Cardow was convicted of committing an offensive act on a war memorial.
The magistrate sentenced Claridge to a 12-month community corrections order, issuing a fine of $400 and ordering him to pay $25,000 to Bellingen Shire Council in compensation.
Cardow was fined $750.
The defendants leave court. Photo: ABC / Claire Simmonds
Community cost
Dorrigo RSL sub-branch secretary Phillip Corlis said he expected the cost of the statue's repair to increase, as two more pieces had since fallen from the damaged cenotaph.
Corlis said the vandalism occurred just six days before Anzac Day, and the community had to gather around a broken stone statue for the service.
"It was heart-wrenching," he said.
Corlis said he was disappointed the pair were not ordered to issue a public apology.
"I think they should apologise to the community and to the sub-branch," he said.
"Desecration of a memorial is shocking, absolutely shocking - why would you do something like that?"
Bellingen Shire Council, which owns the monument, said in a statement it was "committed to returning the memorial to its rightful condition as soon as possible".
-ABC
