In Western Australia, workers removed Nicky Winmar’s Optus Stadium statue in the early hours of Sunday after Premier Roger Cook ordered its takedown following Winmar’s guilty verdict for assaulting a woman in Victoria.
By the time Optus Stadium was waking up for another day, Nicky Winmar’s statue was already coming down.
Stunning photos showed the $100,000 tribute being torn down in the early hours of Sunday morning. Workers used a crane to remove the artwork from Perth’s Optus Stadium after Premier Roger Cook ordered its removal, following a guilty finding in a Victorian court on Friday.
Winmar was found guilty of smashing a woman’s head against a door during a case heard in northern Victoria. The attack was alleged to have taken place on May 14 last year.
Cook moved quickly after the verdict in Bendigo Magistrates’ Court on Friday, directing VenuesWest to bring down the statue shortly after the decision was handed down.
“Violence against women is never acceptable, and it is important we send a strong message to the community,” Cook said. “Following Nicky Winmar’s conviction, I’m of the firm view that it is no longer appropriate for that statue to be displayed.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese backed the move, saying, “There is no place for violence against women anywhere in Australia. I support the premier’s decision.”
The statue, erected in 2019, depicts arguably the most famous moment of Winmar’s career. In 1993, during a match against Collingwood, Winmar lifted his jersey and pointed to the colour of his skin after footy fans hit him with racist abuse.
It was commissioned by the AFL and created by sculptor Louis Laumen, who told the West Australian he was saddened by the removal but did not condone Winmar’s actions in any way.
Former St Kilda star Winmar had been pictured as part of the artwork’s original display. After the takedown, publication reporting said former Western Australian Sports Minister Mick Murray was “devastated” by the statue’s removal, after he played a major role in having it added to the stadium.
“I don’t condone violence. I am disappointed in Nicky,” Murray said. “But that statue meant so much to so many people.”
The tribute will reportedly be placed in storage until its future is decided.
The legal case hinged on allegations made by Winmar’s accuser. who claimed he became unexpectedly angry before grabbing her arm. twisting it and dragging her by the hair. She also accused Winmar of pushing her against a wall. spitting and yelling in her face. and then bashing her head repeatedly into a wooden door.
In her evidence in May, the woman said she managed to break free and lock herself into a room, where she called triple zero.
“I was petrified he was going to do more things to me,” the woman said in her evidence. “I was actually fearful for my life.”
At court, the magistrate convicted Winmar of two charges of common law assault and one count of unlawful assault. The magistrate found the prosecution had proven those offences beyond reasonable doubt.
The charges related to allegations that Winmar grabbed the woman by the arm, dragged her by the hair, and hit her head against a door.
Winmar was acquitted on the fourth charge of intentionally causing injury. Mr Huynh found the woman’s “substantial pain” fell short of the sort of injury required for the intentional causing injury charge.
On Sunday morning, with a crane and the cover of darkness, the stadium’s message was immediate: the statue that once commemorated Winmar’s 1993 stand against racist abuse was removed after his conviction for violence against a woman.
Nicky Winmar Optus Stadium VenuesWest Roger Cook Anthony Albanese statue removal assault conviction Bendigo Magistrates' Court Louis Laumen AFL