Wollondilly Shire Mayor, Matt Gould, has expressed his outrage at the theft of five memorial plaques from public seats installed in memory of five local teenagers killed in a horror car crash at Buxton in September 2022.
The five young people, aged between 14 and 16, were killed after the car they were travelling in crashed into a tree at high speed.
The group memorial of five coloured bench seats, erected along the Picton to Tahmoor shareway, honoured each of the victims’ favourite colours.
Over the King’s Birthday weekend, the brass memorial plaques from each bench seat were removed.
“I have rarely been so angry… some absolute scumbag has stolen the memorial plaques off the chairs for those killed in the Buxton accident,” Mayor Gould said in an online post following the discovery of the theft.
“To steal memorial plaques of children who died in one of the darkest days in the shire’s history is utterly reprehensible and is the absolute last thing their families needed. I’m ashamed anyone in our community would stoop so low.
“I’ve spoken to several of the families this morning and they are understandably gutted. I’ve reassured them that council will replace the plaques and repair the damage as soon as possible and we will look at options to try and make sure this doesn’t happen again.
“The monetary value of the plaques isn’t even worth the effort it would have taken to steal them but obviously they have incredible sentimental value to the families. As such, at the request of some of the families, if the lowlife who is responsible for this has even the slightest shred of a conscience return the plaques to council tonight and no further questions will be asked.”
The Mayor said the theft has been reported to NSW Police.
“If anyone has seen anything or has dashcam/camera footage that either shows the theft in progress or can help narrow down exactly when they were stolen please contact either crime stoppers on 1800 333 000 or Narellan Police on 4632 4499,” he said.
