Sixty bikes stolen from Darwin community organisation

A Darwin men's shed says its storage facility has been broken into four times in four months, which is impeding its ability to provide services. They say about 60 donated bicycles, electric-bike equipment and lumber have been stolen, and significant damage has been done to the facility. What's next? The organisation is calling for community donations to help replace the stolen equipment, so it can continue delivering bicycles to remote communities. About 60 donated bicycles have been stolen from a Darwin not-for-profit organisation which collects and restores them for remote communities. Intruders have broken into the Darwin Men's Shed Association storage facility four times since April, taking repaired push bikes destined for women's and children's programs across the Northern Territory. Darwin Men's Shed president Brian Harvey said boxes of donated bike parts, electric-bike equipment, copper wire and lumber had also been taken, and he estimated the loss at $20,000 to $25,000. "It's had an impact on our shed and income to a point where we can't store our bikes and gear at the location," Mr Harvey said. "It's disappointing that people are stealing from a not-for-profit organisation that's trying to help the community, but you can't do much about it — we just [need to] keep on keeping on." Mr Harvey said each bike represented his volunteers' time in repairing and preparing them for new owners. The organisation has moved all its stock from the Woolner storage facility to its head office and must now rebuild their supply of bicycles. The Darwin Men's Shed is also in the process of making new arrangements with the communities they work with, including Nhulunbuy, Palumpa and Galiwin'ku. Mr Harvey said they had reported the break-ins to police, but worried it could be difficult to identify the bikes because many did not have serial numbers. Theft can have lasting impact Neighbourhood Watch NT chief executive Veronica Larson said community organisations were often vulnerable to theft. "I can't speculate on why people want to target each place specifically, but oftentimes community groups and organisations are not as well protected as maybe large companies, so they're more easily accessible," she said. Ms Larson said repeated burglaries could have lasting impacts on small businesses and organisations, as damaged property, insurance claims and unrecoverable items made it difficult for them to continue their work. She urged people to make properties less attractive to opportunistic offenders by installing visible CCTV, improving lighting, trimming vegetation and looking out for one another. She also encouraged people to report incidents of theft to the police or Crime Stoppers. The Darwin Men's Shed hopes a proposed new facility will provide more secure storage in the future. Until then, they're asking residents to donate bicycles and help replenish their stock for remote deliveries. [Image text:] BOSCH SRIAN DARWIN