Thieves who stole Imperial weights and measures from the Altona Homestead Museum, presumably to sell as brass scrap metal, have been described as “scumbags”.
The six weights, dating back to the early 1900s, are believed to have been stolen in December but their disappearance was only noticed on Wednesday.
Management of the homestead, built in 1842, is now forced to review security ahead of thousands of people expected to go through its museum on Australia Day.
Altona Laverton Historical Society president Peter Weaver said he was gutted by the theft.
“I got involved with the homestead about six years ago and we opened it up a lot to give further access to people so they can touch and see things a little closer – and we’ve got free entrance,” he said.
“I’m proud to say this is the first time we’ve had something go missing, that we know of, but it’s still gut-wrenching and it feels like an invasion of some kind.”
The largest weight stolen was about 20cm wide.
Mr Weaver described the thieves as “scumbags”.
“They’re just the lowest of low,” he said.
Previously, a man tried to steal an eight-inch thick family bible from the homestead but Mr Weaver caught him in the act and stopped him.
Local scrap metal recyclers have been notified of the theft.
The museum’s curators are appealing to the thief to return the weights by leaving them on the porch of the homestead at Logan Reserve.
