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An Adelaide street artist's poster aimed at provoking thought about national identity has been vandalised with racist graffiti.

The artwork, which depicts late 19th century Muslim immigrant Monga Khan above the headline "Aussie", was found defaced on Wednesday morning with a spray-painted "white power" message.

The poster was displayed on the corner of Hackney Road and North Terrace on the outskirts of the Adelaide CBD.

Artist Peter Drew, who began displaying his "Aussie" artwork series around Adelaide and other capital cities in 2016, estimated that he replaces a poster "once a month" due to racist vandalism.

He hit back at the perpetrator on Wednesday.

"They call themselves 'patriots' but they are not patriotic," he said.

"They don't love Australia. They love a fantasy of an Australia that never really was.

"We are the real patriots. We love Australia for what it actually is and what it might yet become."

Drew replaced the vandalised artwork on Wednesday afternoon with a new poster, which depicts protesters at a March for Australia rally tearing down a Monga Khan poster.

This poster has the headline "Aussie?".

He added that "as a rule", he puts up three new posters for every one that is vandalised.

'Not just any old thing that's been graffitied'

Dr Kaz Ross, independent researcher into far-right extremism in Australia, said public commentary like the slogan pictured "has a very corrosive effect — and that's the intention of it".

"The intention is to indicate to the target audience, 'You're not welcome here, this is our space,'" she said.

"If you're not the target audience, you may not even feel it particularly deeply.

"But if you are the target audience, you know that there's someone basically expressing hate towards you … and the intention is to make you feel very, very uncomfortable on the streets in Australia."

Dr Ross said it was significant that the vandal had targeted one of Drew's posters, which feature people who applied for exemptions to the White Australia policy.

She said the images drew attention to the fact that "White Australia was never just white Australia".

"It's not just any old thing that's been graffitied here. It's quite a symbolic statement about who's an Australian and who's welcome in Australia," she said.

"So it's important that we say 'Yes, actually these people on the posters contributed to the making of modern Australia and they are welcome as Australians.'"

Drew said graffiti also forced him recently to replace an "Aussie" poster that depicted a Jewish World War II veteran.

Shai Wittles, a member of the Jewish community in Adelaide, said tensions had escalated following the Bondi attack.

"What I'm seeing is, in the wake of this tragedy, I'm seeing white supremacists emboldened and I'm seeing a lot of people using Bondi as a justification for their white supremacy," they said.

"I think that these escalations are making everyone less safe."

They said the intent behind incidents such as the graffiti was to stoke division within the community.

Minister says act doesn't represent SA

Minister for Multicultural Affairs Zoe Bettison said the message was "offensive and disappointing".

"While acts like this can be hurtful and divisive, they do not reflect who we are as a community," she said in a statement.

"South Australia is an overwhelmingly harmonious and inclusive multicultural state.

"It's important we all take time to reflect on the recent events and be reminded of the values of kindness, respect and looking out for one another.

"South Australians reject hate and continue to stand together in the spirit of unity and goodwill."

Monga Khan was a hawker and itinerant worker who arrived in Australia in 1895 shortly before the White Australia policy began.

He applied for an exemption to the policy's dictation test so he could be re-admitted into Australia without taking the test designed to keep him out.

The image depicted in the poster is from his application for the exemption.