A historically significant statue of Captain Cook in Sydney’s Hyde Park narrowly escaped significant damage when two 27-year-olds attempted to sever the 145-year-old monument with an angle grinder in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Council staff reported the incident to police around 1am after observing a man and a woman, dressed entirely in black, purportedly trying to cut through the statue’s ankles.

The pair had allegedly constructed a rudimentary rope and pulley system attached to a nearby tree to reach the nearly five-metre-high statue.

One of the individuals was allegedly hoisted to the top of the statue and managed to cut halfway through Captain Cook’s right ankle before police intervened.

According to a police spokesperson, the two were arrested and charged with multiple offences, including malicious damage, possessing an article with intent to damage property, being armed with intent to commit an indictable offence, and wilfully damaging or defacing a protected place.

Both were denied bail and appeared before Parramatta local court on Sunday.

A City of Sydney spokesperson confirmed that an engineer assessed the statue to ensure it was structurally sound.

“The area has been made safe,” the spokesperson stated. “An engineer has attended the site and is confident the structural integrity has not been compromised. We will now have experts further assess and advise on repairs and cost.”

A Captain Cook statue in Victoria has been destroyed by activists in a rage attack against Australia Day. The statue was sawn off at the feet, with "the colony will fall" graffitied in red. Captain Cook arrived in Australian shores in April 1770. Don't kid yourselves that this is… pic.twitter.com/BGCxSYZ3sc

— Rukshan Fernando (@therealrukshan) January 24, 2024

This incident follows a similar act of vandalism in January, where a Captain Cook statue in St Kilda, Melbourne, was sawn off at the ankles and graffitied with “the colony will fall."