Randwick

The local council in Randwick - the suburb where the statue is located - described the vandalism as "a disservice to the community and a disservice to reconciliation".

Watching the match from the Sydney Cricket Ground press box, the Guardian's Kevin Mitchell wrote this line about Johnson: external-link "There are unbackable nags at the nearby Randwick racecourse who are more reliable. Sometimes, he has the demeanour of a haunted artist, Van Gogh without his brushes."

Scott Johnson said the conviction on Wednesday of Stanley Bruce Early, 77, for murdering Raymond Keam in a gay hangout in the Sydney suburb of Randwick in 1987 was proof that old cases could be solved.

Local Randwick City mayor Dylan Parker said there had been no further sighting of sharks in the area and allowed several beaches to reopen after shutting them on Thursday, including the city’s iconic Bondi beach.

"This has been a complete shock for our community," Dylan Parker, the mayor of Randwick Council which includes Little Bay, told Reuters.