By Afraa Kori
While Christmas is a time for joy, the Beaconsfield community were disheartened by the theft of public Christmas decorations.
The Beaconsfield Progress Association (BPA) is a voluntary organization dedicated to representing the interests of Beaconsfield’s residents and businesses.
They work closely with the Cardinia Shire Council, as well as Commonwealth and State Governments and various non-government bodies, to address planning and community issues, events, and amenities in Beaconsfield.
As Christmas approaches, many Beaconsfield residents decorate their front yards with festive lights and inflatable characters.
However, public spaces like shopping precincts and parks often lack such decorations. In the past, councils across various municipalities decided to stop decorating public areas, but they do offer small grants to community organizations that wish to spread Christmas cheer in their neighborhoods. These grants are available until March each year.
After seeing several posts on a local Facebook group expressing disappointment over the town’s lack of Christmas spirit, the Beaconsfield Progress Association reached out to the council to seek approval for setting up a Christmas display.
Following numerous emails, both parties agreed to install several Christmas trees around Beaconsfield. The locations included five trees at the corner of Beaconsfield Emerald Road and Fieldstone Blvd, three trees at the corner of O’Neil Road and the highway, two at the Baptist Church, and one at Bob Burgess Reserve.
The council awarded the BPA a $1,000 grant, with additional funds donated by the association and many residents also contributed decorations for the trees.
On a hot Friday at the end of November, 16 volunteers divided into groups to decorate the trees, the Beaconsfield Park sign, the tennis club fence, and the Central Hotel with lights.
They also placed beautiful giant bows on some gum trees and small handmade bows on the kindergarten fence. A delightful “Merry Christmas” display created by Beaconsfield Primary School children were also set up for everyone to enjoy.
Unfortunately, three days after the display was completed, one of the trees, along with its lights and decorations went missing from Fieldstone Blvd.
“It didn’t take long but someone has stolen one of our trees, including the pole. This makes us very sad. The tree, decorations and time taken to decorate is all donated. We can’t just believe it,” BPA member said.
Another BPA member and volunteer noticed the alleged thief struck again on December 4.
“Yesterday I attached 10 bows to the Kinder fence. This morning we’re down to 9. I’m going to replace the stolen bow.”
Despite this setback, many residents have offered to pay for a new tree and decorations. As the volunteers are now busy with their own Christmas preparations, the association decided to leave the pole empty and invite local children to place decorations at the spot where the tree went missing.
Despite the negative incident, many people have expressed their joy at seeing the decorated trees as they drive by. The Beaconsfield Progress Association would like to thank all the volunteers for their hard work, making Beaconsfield look very festive this holiday season.
