Visitor takes gutters of historic buildings, scooters away, Australia officials say
A visitor to a protected park in Australia stole the gutters from historic buildings and scootered away, according to officials. Now, he’s facing charges.
A 30-year-old man visited Cape Pallarenda Conservation Park in April and removed the copper rain gutters from “heritage-listed buildings,” the Queensland Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation said in a Sept. 4 news release.
A camera photographed the man riding a scooter and using it to transport the large gutters, officials said. It is believed he later transferred the gutters to a vehicle and started to drive away, according to authorities.
Parks and wildlife rangers said they “were alerted to suspicious activity in the conservation park” and began following a white vehicle that seemed to have copper gutters sticking out the back.
Rangers contacted local police who “successfully intercepted” the vehicle, officials said.
A 30-year-old man is now facing charges of entering premises and committing an indictable offense, wilful damage and receiving tainted property, officials said.
The man is scheduled to appear in court Sept. 9, the department said.
Joe Jess, a ranger with the department, said that “taxpayer funds are required to repair and replace the damaged infrastructure.”
Two photos show a building at Cape Pallarenda Conservation Park with no gutters on one side.
Cape Pallarenda Conservation Park is on the northeastern coast of Australia and a roughly 1,300-mile drive northwest from Sydney.
This story was originally published September 5, 2025 at 3:52 PM with the headline "Visitor takes gutters of historic buildings, scooters away, Australia officials say."
