“The playing equipment will cost thousands of dollars to replace, and since a whole court set is missing, it could be for someone’s use in their back garden. The equipment included mallets, hoops, balls, a centre peg and a large bell.’’
In total, three sets of balls have been stolen. The sets are of international standard and cost more than $700 per set. They’re also hard to come by, as they must be certified and come from overseas.
The club asks for the community to be on the lookout. They say they’d be grateful if the people involved had a change of heart and returned their goods.
Katikati Croquet Club is based down the secluded Hunter Reserve. They’ve taken further security steps to secure their premises.
Neighbouring Katikati Squash Club has had their share of trouble at Hunter Reserve as well.
They’ve had two gas califonts stolen in the last two years — costing them around $2500 per califont.
Treasurer Toni Connelly says their most recent theft occurred at the same time as the croquet club’s burglary.
She doesn’t want to paint the area as a bad one, as “it’s beautiful down here”.
“But it is a congregation point. We see a lot of the same cars coming and going at night.”
Cars used to park in their carpark at night, but the club now has a spotlight, CCTV, and alarms are in place.
“There are a few people who are tainting the area and who also don’t mind wrecking things to get money.”
The club would like to look into the idea of a gate.
“We’re not sure how that would work, but ideally we would like to stop them going down. We can’t stop them on foot, but it would stop the vehicles at night.’’
Katikati Police Sergeant Steve Hindmarsh says to date, nobody has been apprehended.
Registrations of two vehicles seen in the area were provided — one car belonging to a homeless person was searched, but nothing was found.
Steve says it is a known location where people will sometimes park up overnight or meet up during the night.
“Police patrols have come across suspicious persons or persons known to police at Hunter Reserve during the night. Generally, any remote place like this can be [a] meeting point for criminals or drug dealers. This can happen in any park or reserve, and does happen.”
As far as the sale of croquet equipment goes, Steve says it seems “a little desperate, but property can easily be sold over marketplace groups on the internet to unsuspecting buyers”.
Police and community patrols check the area, but at certain times, so there are periods when these clubs are at risk, he says.
