Families of Tasmanian soldiers who died at war are struggling to understand why a number of commemorative plaques have been forcibly removed from their plinths at a memorial avenue in Hobart.
The theft of at least 21 plaques that recognise individual soldiers who died in the First World War was noticed on Wednesday by council workers.
The Soldiers’ Memorial Avenue at Queens Domain, north of Hobart’s CBD, is a 2-kilometre-long walking track with more than 500 brass memorials and accompanying war-era planted trees.
“These trees and these plaques represent a grave for a man who died on the other side of the world,” Friends of Soldier’s Memorial Avenue President John Wadsley said.
He said the volunteer group has spent more than two decades restoring the site.
“Yesterday, I was pretty gutted. Honestly they’re scumbags,” he said.
Mr Wadsley, who has a great uncle commemorated at the site, said he had been contacted by “quite a few” families over the past day wanting to know if their ancestor’s plaque was affected.
“These plaques represent men who died in war, who died for Australia, and yet someone thinks it’s clever or easy to steal a gravesite.”
Mr Wadsley said each memorial was paid for through fundraising or donations, and cost about $600 to cast.
“However, in terms of their value, if you take them for scrap, I’ve been told they’re probably worth less than $10 because the bronze is not something that can actually be reused,” he said.
Last year, a number of memorial plaques were also stolen from Arthur Square and Pioneer Avenue in New Norfolk, north-west of Hobart.
Investigations ongoing into ‘appalling’ theft
Hobart Deputy Lord Mayor Zelinda Sherlock thanked the council workers who noticed and acted on the lost plaques and said council would discuss if it were possible to improve its monitoring of the area.
Tasmania Police Acting Inspector Danny Jackson said the incident was “appalling” and “extremely insensitive”.
He said investigations were in the early stages and the motivation behind the thefts was unknown.
“Some people unfortunately take advantage of these semi-precious metals being in public spaces and they will take them with a view for selling them,” Acting Inspector Jackson said.
“It could be an interest factor. For some unknown reason they wanted to take them with them.
“We are very keen to locate the people responsible and have those plaques recovered.”
Mr Wadsley said if not retrieved, they would be replaced.
“We need to honour those soldiers.”
The Soldiers Memorial Avenue comprises 533 individually named trees, plus one for an Unknown Soldier, planted between 1918 and 1919 to commemorate soldiers who died in World War I (1914–1918), also known as the Great War.
Additional trees were added in 1926.