Statue beheaded and doused in red paint on monarch's birthday

The beheading follows a string of incidents of colonial statues being vandalised, including the toppling of St Kilda's Captain Cook statue in January.

The statue of George V was found on Monday morning beheaded and doused in paint. Credit: X/Twitter

A statue of King George V was decapitated and smothered in red paint in the early hours of the King's Birthday public holiday.

Victorian Police were called to the statue at Melbourne's Kings Domain around 9am on Monday.

"It appears the head of the statue has been removed and red paint thrown at the monument," a police spokesperson said in a statement.

Police are appealing to anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers.

A beheaded statue of King George V is seen in Kings Domain, Melbourne. Source: AAP / Rachael Ward/AAP Image

Victoria is among the majority of states and territories in Australia that observe the King's Birthday long weekend. Western Australia and Queensland don't participate in the public holiday.

The incident follows a string of vandalism to colonial statues including the toppling of Geelong's Queen Victoria statue in March and St Kilda's Captain Cook statue on the eve of the Australia Day public holiday.

In both incidents, words such as 'the colony will fall' were written in red paint on the podium.