Another blow to Black Saturday school

The oversize chess set.

A PRIMARY school destroyed by the Black Saturday bushfires has been targeted by heartless thieves.

Embattled Strathewen Primary School, which was rebuilt after being destroyed in the 2009 disaster, has been subjected to a cruel attack after thieves swiped items of its giant chess board donated to the school by a French village.

It is believed the burglars broke into the school between Thursday, March 14 and Monday, March 18 and knocked off the king pieces belonging to the over-sized board game.

The chess board, which has become a trademark in the school’s outdoor courtyard, was donated by the French village of Villers-Bretonneux as part of the reconstruction effort after its town raised $20,000 to create a French-themed courtyard.

The structure also commemorated the village’s rescue by Allied forces in World War I.

Hurstbridge Police Sgt David Jamieson said the school community was “devastated” by the theft, with the well-used chess board a central focus during lunchtime breaks.

“These children have been through a great deal in the past few years and these chess pieces have come to symbolise the rebuilding of their school,” Sgt Jamieson said.

“It’s incredibly disappointing that someone would target a school that has already gone through so much.”

Several power tools were also taken from a shed on the premises during the burglary.

Victoria Police spokeswoman Belle Nolan said investigators described the fibre glass king structures as “hard to miss” - with each stand around 65cm in height – and were appealing for public assistance to help locate them.

Investigators have released an image of the chess set. Anyone with any information should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or visit www.crimestoppers.com.au
 

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Father breaks down in Black Saturday case

A FORMER soldier broke down this morning while recalling the harrowing moment he lost his partner and three young children today to the devastating Black Saturday fires four years ago.

Darrin Gibson told the Supreme Court he cowered in a dam of his Kinglake West property with his severely injured one-year-old daughter Ava while his partner, Lesley Leahy, daughter Kiona, 4, and son Jye, 3 died while sheltering behind a tree less than 20 metres away.

Mr Gibson is one of 10,000 people suing electricity providers over the fires.

Mr Gibson walked to a neighbours property with his feet melting while cradling Ava in his arms.

He gave his daughter to his neighbour's wife while she was still alive before collapsing with exhaustion "I just wanted her to be held by a woman," Mr Gibson said.

Ava died in hospital from her injuries two days later.

The family were forced to flee their home after it caught fire during the fires on February 7, 2009.

"The top of the house started to collapse. Said "get to the dam". I looked at Lesley and she was sitting on the ground. She said she couldn't move," Mr Gibson said 

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Hammer time for Super Saturday

Melbourne is set to undergo its fifth-biggest auction on record. Source: Herald Sun

MELBOURNE is set to undergo its fifth-biggest auction weekend on record in the biggest Super Saturday since 2010.

More than 1200 properties will go under the hammer today and tomorrow, according to Real Estate Institute of Victoria figures.

The glut will spoil buyers for choice as more auctions are held in one weekend than are scheduled for the next three weeks combined.

And REIV estimates indicate buyers may have their wallets out, with sales at auction predicted to reach $650 million across the two days.

Market experts are predicting clearance rates to stay reasonably consistent with those recorded so far this year, although a slight drop is possible.

Wakelin Property Advisory director Richard Wakelin said Super Saturday would be a barometer for the wider market.

"It will provide probably the best snapshot of how the property market is performing and holding up - it's a tremendous barometer," he said.

"This is a really key weekend, in terms of whether the supply can be absorbed - it's really going to tell us if this market is sustainable."

A good outcome would see a slight drop in the clearance rate to a more normal level of 65 per cent, according to Mr Wakelin.

REIV figures show the biggest auction weekend of the year so far, February 23 and 24, when 939 properties were auctioned, also recorded the highest clearance rate, 72 per cent, since 2010.

When 1122 homes were auctioned across October 27 and 28 last year, both the number of auctions and the clearance rate, 64 per cent, were the highest recorded for the year. A similarly high result was recorded in February 2011.

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