Thieves take valuable Melb bronze statue

A bronze garden fountain worth $50,000 has been stolen from an inner Melbourne park.

The historic Boy with Urn fountain was stolen from Fitzroy Gardens on March 18, and the council is worried it may be melted down for scrap metal.

"This is a deliberate and callous theft of an important piece of Melbourne's history," councillor Arron Wood said on Thursday.

The fountain has been in Fitzroy Gardens since about 1900.

It depicts a boy tipping water from an urn held on his shoulder, and water falls from the urn into the base of the fountain.

Since the fountain is made of bronze, it's likely it took two people to remove it from the garden. An angle grinder may have also been used.

Police are reviewing CCTV footage for clues about who took the fountain.