Pamela Redford has been left without a car, and disillusioned about country life after her car was trashed in Healesville.By Kath Gannaway
HEALESVILLE’S hoon element, combined with a lack of a 24-hour police station in the town, has a Melbourne woman thinking twice about a planned tree-change.
Pamela Redford’s car was wrecked after she was forced to leave it overnight in Queen’s Park on Friday, 30 January.
Ms Redford had come up to Healesville for a visit and decided to have a swim at the local pool.
What started out as a pleasant day in a town she thought she might soon call home, was spoiled a bit when her car wouldn’t start after her swim.
“I’d had a nice day looking around and people had stopped to help me with the car which had me thinking what a nice, country town Healesville is,” Ms Redford said.
A knock on the door in the early hours of the following morning turned all that around.
“Police came to my doorstep and told me a gang of youths had turned the car over and smashed all the panels.
“I got a call from Lilydale police because apparently the police station at Healesville closes at midnight,” she said.
“Lilydale police told me it takes them 20 minutes to get there and once the local station is closed the youth there just go wild.”
Ms Redford said the experience had changed not only her perception of the town, but had raised concerns about her safety as a single woman moving to a country town.
“It’s not a very attractive thing to be moving to an area where it is not safe to leave a car overnight in a public place and you don’t feel you have adequate police presence,” she said.
Sergeant Tony Van Gorp of Healesville Police said he and another officer were on duty from 6pm on the Friday until 2am on the Saturday morning.
“We were, in fact, tied up processing a drink-driver at Lilydale between 1.15am and 2.30am,” Sgt Van Gorp said.
“Realistically this has happened after 2am and there’s no doubt a lot of locals know that after 2am on Saturdays we just don’t have the number of troops required to work 24 hours a day.”
Ms Redford said she had been left without a car, and that the experience had put paid to her plans to move to the country.
“The police said it’s just like any country town, but things like this shouldn’t just be treated as a matter of course,” she said.
