Farm buggy, car and tools: $60k worth of property stolen from Mount Duneed farm

A Mount Duneed family farm has been hit by thieves who made off with $60,000 worth of vehicles and equipment in an overnight raid.

Richard Hall's farm was broken into on Tuesday night, with 60k of goods stolen from the shed. Picture: Alan Barber

A family farm in Mount Duneed has fallen victim to a devastating heist, with thieves making off with $60,000 worth of property early on Tuesday morning.

The brazen criminals stole a farm buggy and a car, loading both vehicles with expensive car parts, tools, and a dirt bike.

Th owner of the hobby farm Rick Hall said it’s the first time they have been targeted by thieves.

“You just feel violated, I don’t know that we’ll be able to recover anything on insurance.”

His son, Mason Hall, 22, said, “I got woken up by my dad saying, ‘Where’s your bike?’”

“The farmhand had found the door to the mechanical shed bolted and locked. It’s usually open and inside everything was gone.

“They’d gone in the front door of the shed, locked it behind them, loaded the buggy with a bunch of my gear, then left through the black sliding door,” he said.

Owners of a Mount Duneed farm targeted in $60k vehicle heist say their bolted back gate was broken into.

A Kioti buggy, white Holden Commodore and Honda CRF dirt bike were among the items stolen from the property.

Mr Hall said the thieves also loaded up the buggy with his tools, black Walkinshaw wheels, a set of Manta extractors for a Holden VT Commodore and numerous other car parts.

“I’m still figuring out what was taken, there’s a lot of stuff missing, a steering wheel, my mate’s tools,” he said.

Dirt bike taken during a $60k vehicle heist in Mount Duneed.

Mr Hall said the shed wasn’t easy to access on the property, but the thieves seemed to know what they were looking for.

“They knew exactly where to go,” Mr Hall said.

“They’d cut the locks on one of our back fences.

“They went straight past our sheds and all the whipper snippers and chains and trailers out in the open, other sheds and they went straight for my mechanical shed.”

A neighbour, who did not wish to be named, said he had heard rattling at his own fence on Tuesday morning at about 1.30am, and had woken up to find his gate was bent from being rammed, with fresh wheel marks outside his locked gate.

Neighbours of a Mount Duneed farm targeted in $60k vehicle heist, claim their gate was rammed the same night.

Mr Hall said the police had taken about four photos but were reluctant to take fingerprints from the doors.

“It sounded like they were blaming us for not having cameras, but we shouldn’t need cameras just to make sure people don’t take the things we worked hard for.”

“I know the likelihood of us getting it all back is low, but it would be nice to know they’re out there looking for it.”

The stolen KIOTI K9 buggy. Richard Hall's farm was broken into on Tuesday night, with 60k of goods stolen from the shed. Picture: supplied

A Victoria Police spokesman said Geelong Crime Investigation Unit detectives were investigating after more than $60,000 worth of vehicles were stolen from a the Mount Duneed property overnight.

“Investigators have been told an unknown number of offenders accessed a shed on the Ghazeepore Road property sometime between 3pm on 14 July and 7am on 15 July,” he said.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.

Originally published as Farm buggy, car and tools: $60k worth of property stolen from Mount Duneed farm