By EMMA SUN
A YARRA Ranges archery club has “lost everything” after callous thieves broke in and stole almost $10,000 worth of equipment last month.
The incident occurred overnight between 20 and 21 July at the Lilydale Bowmen, based on the border of Montrose and The Basin, leaving destruction in their wake and causing a damage bill of about $5000.
Club treasurer Jon Hawkins said it was shattering because the club would no longer be able to support community groups or introduce new members to archery for quite some time.
“We do introduction to archery courses where we provide the equipment and teach people the basics of archery to give them a chance to see if they like the sport,” he said.
“We also do quite a few functions for the scouts, for the CFA, and we host the Victoria Police and Emergency Services Games on a yearly basis.
“With all our equipment gone, we’re now unable to provide for those functions.”
He said a couple of dozen bows, all arrows, all accessories and even the club’s chainsaw and metal detectors used to find stray arrows were taken, leaving the lock-up area empty.
The club, which has been around since 1977, has a membership of about 160 people, ranging from four to 80 years old and while most have their own equipment, Mr Hawkins said the theft took away part of the club.
“We’re absolutely furious, and we’re all devastated by it,” he said.
“Everything we’ve worked so hard for, they’ve came in one fell swoop and taken the lot.”
Mr Hawkins said the club already struggled to make ends meet, so paying to replace the equipment would not only use up all the savings, but also set it back another three to four years.
The club was planning to buy more targets and make improvements to the clubrooms, which it now won’t be able to do.
“Over the last 20 years, we really had to struggle to square all that cash and save to buy this equipment, and with it all gone, we’re now in a situation where we have to replace them all,” he said.
“We try and use our money to the best of our ability so our members get the best value out of it so when something like this happens, when you lose everything, it’s hard picking up the pieces.”
Mr Hawkins said the club had taken significant steps to prevent a similar incident from happening again.
Yarra Ranges CIU Detective Senior Constable Bridget De Chirico said police were very keen to speak to anybody with information regarding the theft.
Those with information are urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
