A Christchurch heritage advocate said the vandalism of the city's homage to explorer Captain Robert Falcon Scott is a disgrace.
The heritage-listed statue on the corner of Worcester Street and Oxford Terrace has been broken just weeks after the completion of its restoration.
The statue's walking pole has been snapped off while the base has been stolen.
Christchurch Heritage Trust chair Anna Crighton said it shows a complete lack of respect.
"You're trying to beautify the city and bring it back to something really nice and then idiots like that come along," she said.
Captain Scott was a famous explorer who raced against Roald Amundsen to the South Pole in the early 20th century.
He perished on his return journey in 1913.
His New Zealand base to the Antarctic was in Christchurch.Â
The statue was sculpted by his widow Kathleen Scott in 1915. It was damaged in the February 2011 earthquake and broke in half.
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