The statue, erected by the former Lawrence Borough Council in the mid-1980s, is popular with tourists and many pose with the miner for photographs.
Members of the Lawrence-Tuapeka Community Board discussed the vandalism at its meeting yesterday, and asked the Clutha District Council to investigate modifying or repairing the statue.
A report from council staff said the repairs to the statue, which has been vandalised before, were estimated at $1600.
Board member Garry McCorkindale asked the council to look at modifying the statue to make it ''more vandal-proof''.
Roger Cotton said: ''It's iconic in the town for obvious reasons ... we should minimise it for further damage.''
Lawrence-Tuapeka ward councillor Geoff Blackmore said the statue should be simplified to make it less prone to vandalism and to maintain its condition.
''Simplifying the statue is the better option.''
The board decided to allocate $1000 towards modifying it to reduce the chance of vandalism. It was hoped the statue would be cleaned and sealed at the same time.
If the repairs or modifications were expected to cost more than $1000, it would come before the board again before work was carried out.
Senior Constable Robert Wallace, of Lawrence, said the statue was damaged in April, but not reported to police until last month.
Since the statue was vandalised, the ''ladies'' and ''mens'' signs have been stolen from the public toilets behind the statue.
He said no offender had been identified and appealed for anyone with information to contact their local police station.helena.dereus@odt.co.nz
