By Brendan Rees
A Cranbourne woman has been left heart-broken after thieves allegedly stole a memorial plaque dedicated to her late aunt at Cranbourne Cemetery.
Belinda Sandham visited the cemetery last Sunday afternoon, March 4, when she made the shocking discovery.
“I was a bit dumbfounded,” she said. “I was standing there shaking, just in shock. I looked around thinking has it come off somewhere? Has someone picked it up and thrown it?
“I thought oh my God – someone has actually removed them.”
Initially thinking maintenance work caused the turmoil, a quick scan of the cemetery led her to find other graves damaged.
“I glanced around and eight others (plaques) surrounding her were also gone,” Ms Sandham said.
“From the damage to some of the other graves, you can clearly see the marks from what looks like a crow bar.”
She said her aunt’s plaque had only been at the cemetery for seven years. “Quite frankly, we thought her plaque would’ve been stuck down relatively well.”
“I did talk to the cemetery officials and they said they’ve never had plaques physically stolen before.
“I found another – God knows how many – (plaques) that was loose.”
Ms Sandham believed the plaque was made of copper. She said it took her cousin some time to save up for it, as it was worth about $800.
“Now we’re back to square one,” she said.
Ms Sandham reported the theft of her aunt’s plaque to Cranbourne Police, who are investigating.
Cranbourne Police Senior Sergeant Melissa Rodgers said she hoped any witnesses or people with information would come forward.
“Obviously it’s terrible what’s happened. You wonder why people don’t draw the line when it comes to things like that,” she said.
“We’re looking at a three-week window where the plaque’s been stolen.”
Sen Sgt Rodgers could not confirm if other crimes had occurred at the cemetery.
She said the cemetery management believed other plaques may have been missing for years, and families had chosen not to replace them.
Cranbourne Cemetery President Ron White said they were treating the matter seriously and had conducted a “very quick audit” of all graves at the cemetery on Monday, 5 March.
“Somewhere between seven and nine plaques do seem to have been dislodged.
“Whether they’ve been stolen or whether we’ll find them lying around the cemetery elsewhere, we haven’t as yet ascertained that,” he said.
Mr White said it was the worst case of vandalism he had experienced in his 20 years at the cemetery.
“It’s a shame that people no longer seem to respect the cemetery the way they used to,” he said.
He said there was one security camera installed at the front office and the gates were kept open 24 hours a day.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or Cranbourne Police on 5991 0600.
