By Brendan Rees
Turning Point Church Community Garden volunteers have been left gutted after their tool shed in Cranbourne was ransacked by heartless thieves.
About $2000 worth of tools including a whipper snipper, trailer ramps, drills, tool boxes, and an angle grinder were allegedly stolen in the raid which occurred sometime between Sunday 10 March and Tuesday morning 12 March.
Program coordinator Maurie Thiele said intruders allegedly jemmied open the shed door before making off with the equipment.
“They just smashed the handle clean off,” he said.
“The brush cutter was $550 – that was brand new three months ago and the ramps they were $199. Those ramps were only used once,” Mr Thiele added.
The theft comes as a bitter blow to the volunteers who have been working hard to build pathways in the garden for people with disabilities to access.
“We use it (equipment) especially the angle grinder to cut up the pavers at the moment,” Mr Thiele said. “We’re getting it set up; we really want to promote it.”
“We’ve got to go and spend all that money and get new stuff.
Mr Thiele said the garden was an impressive set up: “We’ve got about 28 plots, and they’re all built up and it’s a great opportunity for people.”
“They don’t have to bend their backs to do the weeding and grow things. It’s all built up a couple of feet high.
However, Mr Thiele is keeping his head high despite the theft.
“That is life…it’s not a stumbling block it’s a stepping stone for greater things. You’ve got to be positive,” he said.
Pastor Phil Cayzer of Turning Point expressed his disbelief by the callous crime.
“We just spent a fortune getting these pathways in so it’s a bit of a smack in the face just trying to help disability groups,” he said.
“Everything was put away, everything was done correctly; it’s just one of those annoying things that someone else thinks that can make 50 cents of it.
The church will now have to find extra money to be able to finish the walkways, Pastor Cayzer said.
Cranbourne police are investigating.
