Police have made an impassioned plea to the Mandurah community for anyone with information about the destruction of one of the Giants of Mandurah sculptures to come forward, following an outpouring of emotion at the loss of the art installation.
Vivi Cirkelstone, one of the five Giant installations and located on the Coodanup Foreshore, was destroyed by fire on Friday night.
The senseless act of destruction lead to an outpouring of sadness and anger across the local and wider community, who had embraced the Giants installations - more than 15,000 people had visited the installations across its first three weeks, according to Visit Mandurah.
Police believe the fire occurred at about 11.30pm on December 16, where Department of Fire and Emergency Services personnel extinguished the blaze.
Circumstances surrounding the cause of the fire are being treated as suspicious, prompting police to call on anyone with information to come forward.
"If there's a member of the community out there (who knows anything), I suggest they contact Crime Stoppers," Acting Detective Inspector Tom Tristram said.
"Their information can be supplied anonymously, but they do leave themselves open to a reward of up to $25,000."
A/Det Insp Tristram called the destruction "disgusting and cowardly", a sentiment that was also expressed closer to home.
FORM, who worked with the City of Mandurah to bring the installation to the region, said it was "outraged and immensely saddened" in the hours after the fire, but by Monday said it had received an overwhelming response from the local community.
"We are so grateful for the incredible outpouring of support and messages received in response to what happened to Vivi Cirklestone on Friday night. You are all amazing, and we've been absolutely blown away!" it said in a Facebook post.
Mayor Rhys Williams said it was "heartbreaking" given how much the Giants had captured the hearts and minds of visitors.
"You just need to look at the emotion expressed across our community at this news - the hurt, the sadness and the defiance to know how quickly these Giants have become a treasured part of Mandurah's story," Mr Williams said.
"She may have only been with us for a short time, but her presence was significant."
The City of Mandurah said it was working with FORM on whether or not a replacement installation would be explored.
"We are working closely with FORM and other project partners to explore a solution, and are optimistic that we can find one," the city said in a statement to the Mail.
"We will continue to work through next steps and rest assured we will provide the community with an update when we are able to."
The installation's creator Thomas Dambo said while he and his team were "really sad" to hear the news, he was "overwhelmed by many messages from Western Australia's kind and caring people", and said he understood it was an "isolated incident and not a reflection on the community".
Anyone with CCTV, mobile phone or dash-cam vision of the area from between 10:30pm and 1:30am on December 16, or anyone with information about the fire can call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or report online.
