Published: 01:16 BST, 16 August 2026 | Updated: 01:16 BST, 16 August 2026
A country town's furious debate over a statue of a 'little black boy' that has been on its main street for 150 years is set to explode as accusations emerge about its true origins.
A row has been festering for weeks in Maitland, in the NSW Hunter Valley, between Puerto Rican-born artist Osvaldo Budet and some locals over an 84cm-tall cast iron depiction of an African-American boy, which has sat on High Street since the 1870s.
Mr Budet this week gave evidence to the Daily Mail that he said indicates the statue's history is, in fact, racist – flying in the face of romantic notions that it was based upon a statue of a hero slave boy honoured by the first US President George Washington.
Mr Budet obtained American iron foundry catalogues from the 1870s that show an identical, mass-produced statue of a young black boy, with a similar stirrup in hand, was sold under the racist slurs of 'Darkey' and 'Sambo'.
Maitland's statue, known locally as Jocko, was originally placed outside a High Street tobacco store around 1870, after which it became a town fixture, repainted and restored, and eventually a popular prop for selfies.
Mr Budet is not calling for the town to get rid of the statue, but says that locals should admit that Jocko has racist origins.
'The object is loved, I get it, I'm not even arguing about removing it from the street,' Mr Budet said.
'I just want it acknowledged that the complexity is there, an object that can be loved by people, can hurt people.'
Puerto Rican-born artist Osvaldo Budet – who lived in Maitland for five years – sparked furious debate in the country town in the NSW Hunter Region with an exhibition about the iconic statue
Debate has raged for weeks over the 'little black boy' statue some call Jocko, which has set on Maitland's High Street for 150 years
Mr Budet argues the statue was acquired from 1870s catalogues where the African-American boy was referred to under the racist slurs of 'Darkey' and 'Sambo'
Mr Burdet first sparked debate over the statue on July 11, when Maitland Regional Art Gallery opened up a four-month exhibition where he sought to explain the 'racist history of the hitching post statue'.
It featured town souvenirs including tea towels, spoons and pictures of Maitland that featured images of the African-American statue, in order, he said, to explain its 'racist history'.
Budet said his display was informed by his 'experience growing up in Borikén (the Indigenous word for Puerto Rico) fighting colonialism, racism, patriarchy and imperialism through my art'.
