Mooroopna: Looter breaks into flood-damaged Royal Mail Hotel and steals booze

He’s already facing a whopping repair bill, and now the owner of a Mooroopna pub has been dealt another blow after a looter broke in to his bottle shop.

Trevor Forsyth is facing a $50,000 bill after floodwaters came through his venue, Mooroopna's Royal Mail Hotel, in McLennan St near the Goulburn River. Picture: Kiel Egging.

The owner of a pub in flood-stricken Mooroopna has been dealt another blow after a looter broke into his bottle shop and nicked about $300 of alcohol.

The Royal Mail Hotel’s Trevor Forsyth told The Goulburn Valley News of the break-in at his venue on the town’s main street, McLennan St, on Thursday night.

It came on the same day as the town’s main road link with Shepparton, the Peter Ross-Edwards Causeway, was reopened with a reduced 40km/h speed limit.

Mooroopna was isolated from Shepparton for five days when the Goulburn River began rising on October 14, prompting authorities to close it off.

The town’s other road link with Shepparton and nearby Kialla, Watt Rd, remains closed.

Mr Forsyth said the theft was another kick in the guts after floodwaters inundated his pub last weekend, and he’d reported the matter to police who were reviewing CCTV footage.
“It makes you wonder how some people think... when you’re down, all of a sudden you get another kick in the backside,” Mr Forsyth said.
“This bloke has no respect for other people’s property.

“You feel like walking away (from the pub), but then you get people rocking up to help you clean up like I have in the last few days, it makes you feel brighter again.”

Mr Forsyth lives upstairs at the pub, said he came down on Sunday morning to find “a complete lake” through his venue with water 45cm deep.

MOOROOPNA: The Royal Mail Hotel owner Trevor Forsyth takes me through his flood-ravaged pub. He’s facing a repair bill of about $50K, and, a low-life looter took about $300 of booze from his bottle shop last night too. #VicFloods #Mooroopna @LeaderOnline @theheraldsun pic.twitter.com/HjxBfcfHqY

— Kiel Egging (@keggs87) October 21, 2022

He said he wasn’t eligible for insurance from the floods and faced a repair bill of about $50,000, while his bistro is set to remain closed for at least three months.

“I walked down the main street (McLennan St) on Tuesday morning, I think there were only two shops that didn’t have damage, the rest you could see had water through, plaster off walls and furniture upside down,” he said.

Trevor Forsyth, owner of Mooroopna's Royal Mail Hotel, with the flooded carpet he's had to pull out of his pub. Picture: Kiel Egging.

Mr Forsyth said he’d spent this week ripping up carpet with the help of friends and assessing the damage.

Despite all the setbacks, he’s hoping to re-open his bar on Monday, because he wants locals to come together again.

“It’s my business and my home, but the locals and regulars, it’s their home too,” he said.

“It’s not just a place where you come to have a drink, it’s a place where people know where to catch up with people daily, weekly, it’s like a little community.

“They’ll rally around and want to catch up with mates and have a beer and find out who’s lost what.

“I’m only one of about 5000 people that have been affected, one way or the other.”