Susanna Freymark
Ryan Bebb and Jayden Trustum faced Casino Local Court on August 10 over damage to Casino’s Mafeking Lamp on the Walker and Barker streets roundabout on June 18.
The case was held in Lismore because Casino Court’s building is closed.
Jayden Alex Trustum was charged with wilfully damaging or defacing a protected place and committing an offensive act in or on a war memorial.
His charges will be mentioned again on September 21 in Casino local court.
Ryan Samuel Bebb pleaded guilty to committing an offensive act in or on a war memorial. He was ordered to pay $800 compensation to Richmond Valley Council. No conviction was recorded.
The 122 year old Mafeking Lamp was held in place with a wooden brace after the damage caused the column to topple off its base.
Richmond Valley Council finished fixing the lamp last week at an estimated cost of $3000, including wages.
The Lamp’s internal steel structure had to be replaced, council said.
Casino RSL Sub-branch secretary Owen Newell said this was the first time the lamp had been vandalised.
In the 1980s, the lamp was damaged by a car, he said.
“It didn’t have the protective border around it then,” Mr Newell said.
The memorial lamp is named after the Siege of Mafeking during the Boer War. There are several plaques attached to the memorial including the insignias of Australian Defence Forces.
On the base of the memorial are four inscriptions – three dedicated to the areas in which sieges occurred, Ladysmith, Kimberley, Mafeking, as well as listing the names of the commanders and relieving commanders. The fourth lists the names of the soldiers from the Richmond River region who served.
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