Volunteers at the Tenterfield Showground Trust and Show Society are frustrated at the senseless vandalism being done to property at the showground, hoping authorities will step in to address the problem of unsupervised youths wreaking havoc on community assets.
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Police were again called to the showgrounds when damage to one of the announcers’ boxes was carried out on Friday night. The door lock was destroyed, the window broken, electrical boxes interfered with and there were obvious attempts to start a fire, melting a plastic chair.
It’s far from being the first time showground property has been damaged in recent weeks. The CWA Mothers’ Room and toilets were broken into and toilet paper stuffed into the cisterns and wrapped around the beams. The Poultry Pavilion has also been broken into and lights smashed.
Two air-ventilators on the roof of a container have been kicked off, and attempts to jimmy a lock to gain access to the barbecue area have resulted in the lock needing to be replaced.
Trust president Bruce Petrie said it’s hard to put a value on all the damage that has occurred but the air-ventilators alone could cost $800 to replace.
The damages are not worth claiming on insurance but are eating into the organisations’ resources, proving all the more painful as both are run entirely by volunteers.
“It’s just malicious damage,” show society secretary Kim Rhodes said.
“How could anyone get any pleasure out of doing it?”
She and fellow committee members are hoping that by raising awareness of the ongoing issue, there may be a political or community response to the situation that’s allowing unsupervised youth to carry out such aberrant behaviour late at night.
“It’s just bloody pathetic,” Mr Petrie said.
“Over the past month something’s happening all the time. They get over the fences like mice, you can’t stop them. Police can’t do anything unless they catch them in the act.”
They concede that anyone wishing to unlawfully gain access to the grounds can easily do so, with fences continually being repaired and replaced only to be cut again. While several of the structures do have security alarms, there are too many buildings to alarm them all.
Mr Petrie and Mrs Rhodes feel that as the showground is a community asset, it’s the community’s responsibility to remain vigilant.
“Please report anything or any disturbances to the local police,” Mrs Rhodes said.