About a dozen statues in the depiction of the first Christmas were broken, scratched and tipped over, causing damage of about $5000.

Parish priest Father Joel Wallace, who discovered the wanton damage on Saturday morning, said the attack was disappointing.

“We wanted to bring a positive message of joy to everyone and it’s disappointing people treat Christmas this way,” he said.

The display has been open to the public and was not blocked off at night. 

“There is a fence to the street but people don’t need to jump it to get in,” he said.

“It’s open to people to enjoy the gardens and sit in front of the stables.

“We do it for the public and we don’t want to stop that.

“It’s just a pity some thoughtless people have taken advantage of that.”

Several children helped create the nativity scene.

Father Wallace, who is determined to rebuild the display, said he hoped the community would help pay the repair bill.

The hands of several statues were snapped off and are now missing. The heads of a donkey and a small dog were also broken off.

“We’ll see what we can afford to do,” he said.

“We’ll look after Christmas to see if our insurance can help us make the repairs.”

“It would be nice if people were more thoughtful about the feelings of people who have religious beliefs.

“People need to respect religious freedom and think about the children who take a great deal of care and love in putting these things together.”