The powers that be in Perth certainly didn't waste any time in ripping up that plaque in honour of Rolf Harris that had been nestled in the pavement of St Georges Terrace for several decades (photos below). And other local, interstate and even international organizations made similarly swift decisions regarding what to do with his various honours, paintings and music. 

Some people think that this response to the guilty verdict in his trial has been overly harsh. Take this opinion piece from Tom Percy, who says it was hateful and vengeful

To appreciate the comparative savagery of the measures currently being proposed against the Boy from Bassendean (now in some media being branded the “Beast from Bassendean”), we probably need look no further than the fugitive American film director Roman Polanski.

Polanski was convicted, on his own plea of guilty, of raping a 13-year-old girl, and escaped to sanctuary in Europe before his sentencing. His fate in the public domain was scarcely as brutal as that now being meted out to Harris.

I don't agree with this analysis. The first key difference between the cases is right there in Percy's column. The Polish director never denied his crime. Harris, on the other hand, claimed to be innocent -- and probably still feels he has done nothing wrong. 

Polanski's drugging and anal rape of a child was heinous, no doubt about it (and I'm not one of the arty types who ameliorate what he did -- I think he got off very lightly by skiving off to Europe). But it must be remembered that his trial did involve one victim. Of course he may well have done this to other girls. We don't know for sure, though. Harris, on the other hand, was found to be a prolific abuser who took advantage of numerous young victims over several decades. 

Another key difference: Polanski was a film director as opposed to an entertainer and celebrity. He was more of a craftsman; removed to some degree from his creations. 

Rolf Harris was his creation. He presented an affable, avuncular persona that he wanted us to believe was very much a heightened version of himself. He didn't perform a character called "Ralf Harries", for example. He got up on stage as himself, pretty much.

Then there was the fact that Polanski was well known for his dark, twisted movies for years before his trial in 1977. This was the guy who directed Rosemary's Baby, after all. Everybody knew he was one sick puppy! (That doesn't make what he did any less revolting, of course. It just means the shock value is not as great.) 

But Harris was a children's entertainer. And it's clear that he took advantage of the great affection and admiration that young girls had for him. He used it to gain opportunities to sate his sick urges in the first place, then to evade justice for committing these crimes subsequently.

Harris knew that if girls claimed to have been groped by him this was seen by others as harmless, or simply not believed in the first place. As a result he inflicted huge emotional damage on numerous people and simply got away with it. That was truly despicable, in my opinion. 

For these reasons I don't see the recent treatment of his legacy as overkill. I think it's actually quite understandable.