THIEVES have ransacked the Dixons Creek Reserve, stealing outdoor equipment and safety fencing and vandalising lights and toilets.
Members of the small committee of management are devastated by the heartless raid on the weekend of Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 September.
The theft has also provoked condemnation by the Healesville Lions Club which along with other organisations has supported the reserve and community hall redevelopment.
Dixons Creek Reserve Committee secretary Allen Koochew said the committee started work on the project after the 2009 bushfires.
The redevelopment is being done in stages with volunteer committee and community members working tirelessly to create a modern facility for locals and visitors.
A barbecue pavilion, landscaped play area and upgrade of the hall have been completed over the past three years with plans for work to start on a walking track and sensory garden once the weather improves.
“These facilities have been getting a lot of use and are becoming an important part of the community,” Mr Koochew said.
“This has just left our committee members completely dumfounded.”
The theft of the metal table and seating valued at $3000 is especially a blow.
“They were custom built and really looked beautiful in the new landscaped setting. It would have taken two people to unbolt them from the concrete and lift them,” he said.
Although Yarra Ranges Council has agreed to replace the seating, Mr Koochew said the emphasis would now be on making them theft-proof.
Lions members Bert Bresser and Maurie Gray said they felt for the committee members who had put in an enormous amount of time, energy and passion to create a very worthwhile asset for their community.
“They don’t ask for a lot, and I really don’t think people realise the impact this sort of thing has on people who work so hard for their communities,” Mr Gray said.
Mr Bresser said it was wrong that people had to think first and foremost about whether something was theft-proof, than how it would contribute to a community’s enjoyment.
“In the end, you have to do these things in a way that makes it harder, but it’s a real shame that you can’t just have beautiful things without having to think about them being stolen,” he said.
Mr Koochew is appealing to anyone who saw any activity at the reserve which could shed light on the incident, or who may have noticed the distinctive table and seating being transported, or newly arrived in someone’s back yard, to phone Yarra Glen police on 9730 1296.
