​LARGE phallic symbols etched into a southwest Sydney school’s oval by a mystery prankster have been photographed by Google Earth’s satellite and are now visible online angering the school which is now battling the search engine giant to have them removed.

The most recent satellite images taken by Google show three penises — the largest about 10m by 5m — etched on the Clancy Catholic College school oval along with a rude message.

The school is now battling to have the images removed by Google — so far without success.

Police have also been called in to try and identify the culprits.

Google has refused to comment on the matter.

media_camera The offending image on Google Earth. Picture: Google Earth

School principal Iris Nastasi described the vandalism in a newsletter as “cheap and nasty words, scars in our landscape”.

“It was cheap because it was anonymous and without courage, sneaky and secretive,” she wrote in the West Hoxton school’s April 1 newsletter.

“Nonetheless, this cruel action cast us into the public spotlight when Google Earth picked it up. Despite removing the graffiti within hours, despite several appeals to Google ... I watched a photo of our oval receive worldwide attention.”

The school reported the incident to police just three weeks ago — approximately six months after it occurred.

Green Valley Police Chief Inspector Steve Corry confirmed the incident was reported to the local area command.

media_camera It is believed students were banned from the West Hoxton school's oval with attempts made to cover up the drawings. Picture: Google Earth

In all his 40 years of policing, Chief Insp Corry said he’d not experienced this type of incident before.

“It’s still a criminal offence to damage a property, regardless of whether it’s a prank or not,” he said.

“We’re still conducting further inquiries but the school was given advice to contact Google.”

He said he wasn’t sure what was used to create the images and didn’t know if the school oval still had the images on it.

He said he wasn’t able to comment any further about the investigation.

media_camera Clancy Catholic College is outraged over Google Earth’s use of the images.

Google Earth captures images via satellite, updating them every one to three years. You can get updates when an area has been renewed using the Follow Your World tool.

There is no announcement on when and where imagery will be renewed.

Street View imagery automatically goes through a blurring system for faces and recognisable number plates. You can also request for your house and other objects to be blurred.

media_camera The Nazca Lines in southern Peru can be seen clearly from the air. Picture: Chris Beall/Lonely Planet Images.

Ms Nastasi said in the newsletter the incident did not reflect “who we are or what we stand for”.

“This action does not and will not detract from who we are because we will not let it,” she said.

The newsletter also stated that Google did not give notice of their intended flyover to capture the aerial image.

“It is interesting that Google ... can take photos without your knowledge and then in an instance like this, when your community is defamed, they don’t need to apologise, resolve the issue or even respond,” Ms Nastasi said in the newsletter.

Sydney Catholic Schools declined to comment on the matter.

media_camera Mystery drawing Marree Man outside Marree in SA has long been a subject of fascination.

GOOGLE EARTH

● Google Earth is a virtual globe, map and geographical information program

● It maps the earth with images obtained from satellite imagery, aerial photography and geographic information system onto a 3D globe

● It lets you fly to any part of the world and see what it looks like from a bird’s view

● Images are updated every year to three years

● It is not in real time

OTHER PHALLIC SHAPES

Other phallic images were snapped by Google Earth:

● Hazleton Area High School football field was defaced. Grass was removed to create the image of a penis 32m long by 18m wide back in 2007

● In New Zealand in 2009, six phallic shapes were etched into the grass at Fairfield College

● Two giant phalluses were burnt into the school oval at Koonung Secondary College in Melbourne’s Mont Albert North using weedkiller back in 2008

FAMOUS CARVINGS

● The Marree Man: Stuart’s Giant is a modern geoglyph discovered by air in 1998. It appears to depict an indigenous Australian man hunting birds or wallabies with a boomerang. It is at Finnis Springs 60km west of Marree, South Australia. The figure is 4.2km tall

● The Nazca Lines: a series of ancient geoglyphs located in the Nazca Desert in southern Peru. Designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. Experts believe they were created between 500BCE and 500CE. Figures range from simple lines to hummingbirds, spiders, monkeys, fish, sharks, orcas and lizards. Lines are made by removing the pebbles and uncovering the ground. The largest are over 200m across

Originally published as ‘Cruel action cast us in the spotlight’