Parents at a small country preschool were devastated when prizes they had ready for a fundraising quiz night were stolen.
On Friday last week, Dorie Community Preschool volunteers were preparing for the biennial quiz night to be held at the Ardamine Hall Dorie the next day.
Items totalling thousands of dollars were taken. They included hampers and other prizes, alongside an eftpos machine, and items belonging to the hall including a sound system and gym equipment.
The hall was damaged as the burglars gained entry via a window, after trying a door.
The window frame was jimmied and its glass broken.
The door had also been jimmied.
Chair Alice Vanderweg said she and fellow preschool volunteers left the hall about 4.15pm on the Friday, after laying out the prizes and getting ready for the next night.
They returned 6.15pm and were shocked to find many of the prizes missing.
‘‘I honestly thought it was a joke,’’ Vanderweg said.
They suspected it was more than one offender; they may have been lurking in the wider area.
Then when the hall was empty, quietly drove on to the site.
A suspicious white van was noticed by one of the board members who passed by the scene at the time.
‘‘It’s as if they were watching us, to have a small two-hour window where it’s still daylight.’’
Several hampers were stolen, including one with more than $300 of goods such as a handcrafted wooden board, toiletries, wine, champagne glasses, chocolates and restaurant voucher.
Other prize stolen included items rural businesses had donated, such as drench guns and rat traps.
Many vouchers from local businesses were stolen, necessitating the preschool parents having to phone around the businesses to notify them.
An eftpos machine the preschool had hired for the night was also stolen.
Word of the burglary travelled quickly. Businesses and individuals rallied around in the following 24 hours, to ensure there were replacement prizes.
In addition, Vanderweg and other committee members went shopping with their own money.
Hall secretary AJ Keller said about $2000 of hall equipment was stolen. It included a sound system amplifier and speakers, Apple TV box, and two 45kg dumbbells.
‘‘Just gutted, angry,’’ he said of how he and fellow hall members felt about the theft.
It was reported to police, who fingerprinted the scene and took photos.
A police spokesperson said police would ‘‘look to follow up as appropriate’’.
Meanwhile, the sell-out quiz was attended by about 100. It was a success; early estimates suggest about $18,000 was raised.
Vanderweg said organisers and attendees alike had been ‘‘angry and really disappointed’’, but community spirit won out on the day.
‘‘We are pretty lucky to live in such a cool wee community,’’ Vanderweg said.
