By Mitchell Clarke
Two heartless thieves have been charged in relation to the theft of $4000 worth of tools from the bushfire recovery centre in Tonimbuk.
The equipment, which belonged to the non-profit Lions Club International, was locked away in a shipping container, to be used in the Bunyip bushfire clean up.
On 24 February, recovery centre staff noticed the pad locks on the shipping container had been cut and a generator, three chainsaws and a range of hand tools and sets had been snatched.
Victoria Police confirmed that a 37-year-old Tyabb man and a 33-year-old woman had been arrested and charged in relation to the incident.
Lions Club past district governor Ian Gration had distinctively marked the tools, so it was no surprise that a member of his extensive network recognised the missing instruments.
It’s understood some of the stolen goods were being sold at a Mallacoota market.
“I believe the people who stole them had already offloaded a lot of the tools,” he said.
“There’s always a ready market for stolen tools, and they only had a few pieces left, which they were trying to sell at the market.”
It’s unclear what the thieves were doing in Tonimbuk but Mr Gration believes it was a targeted attack.
“They took anything and everything … anything they thought they get rid of a get a quid for,” he explained.
“They didn’t take many shovels or rakes, probably because they knew there’s not a market for those items.”
The 24-year Lions veteran said he was pleased to hear the thieves had been caught and hoped justice would now take its course.
“It’s a low life attitude, to take something that doesn’t belong to you is one thing but when it’s been taken from a community effort to help something, that’s another thing,” he said.
“They’re not stealing from the Lions Club … they’re stealing from people who have lost their houses.”
Following the one-year anniversary since the tragic Bunyip bushfires, the mobile tool library has now been moved to East Gippsland.
“We’ve enjoyed our 12 months here at Tonimbuk, it’s been great working with the community and the other rescue groups. I’ve really enjoyed looking after the tool shed and working with all the staff,” Mr Gration said.
