Graffiti vandals defacing a 100-year-old Sunshine Coast church has been slammed as disgraceful by the church and the community.
The graffiti tags on St Patrick’s Catholic Church in Pomona were reported to police by a parishioner shortly after they were noticed in the early hours of Sunday, July 16.
The vandalism was then reported to parish manager Fred de Waard who said he, like many in the community, was saddened and shocked to see it.
“It was pretty unusual for Pomona, the area hasn’t seemed to have had that type of issue, so it’s sad to see it happen,” he said.
“That church building has just celebrated 100 years at that site, only the year before.
“It was just senseless. It was some tagger having a moment of joy tagging the church building and the fence in front of the church.
“There’s something strange with the psychology of people who do that, who get joy out of doing that.”
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A Queensland Police Service spokesperson said the minor vandalism offence to the church was reported on Sunday, July 16, and the investigation was still open.
In Queensland, defacing property with graffiti can lead to a wilful damage charge, which is punishable by up to five years in prison.
Mr de Waard said the church community did not know who the culprit or culprits were, but hoped they would be found.
“Normally the police get to know the particular participants by their tag,” he said.
“They take great pride in their tag and that’s how they eventually do find them.
“I know the police have got a copy of it on file and if they find a person using that tag in the future, they’ll know who caused it.”
He said the church still had a vibrant, committed community of people who came together regularly in the building.
“They were most dismayed to see the graffiti, as were many people in the Pomona community,” he said.
“It was because of their quick responses to the incident that the graffiti was able to be removed promptly.”
He said the cooler weather had made it easier for the paint to be removed as it hadn’t had time to fully set into the timber.
“We were able to successfully remove it, but it obviously cost us money and time to do it. But in removing it, of course you actually do take some of the existing paintwork off the building as well,” he said.
Mr de Waard had a clear message to the graffiti vandals.
“Give some thought to the 100 years of community that has looked after that building and holds that building in special pride,” he said.
“Please don’t deface it that way, it is just a sad thing to do.
“It’s incredibly disrespectful of the people who have valued and looked after that building over the 100 years.
“It also comes back on the community. Pomona is a wonderful community – I had locals come up to me and help to remove the graffiti because it’s not what they want to see in their community.
“We hope this remains an isolated incident for our church building and that other buildings in Pomona are not similarly targeted, as that would be a real shame.”
The church and wider community celebrated the heritage-listed building’s centenary last March.
“It’s a beautiful building,” he said.
“So many citizens of the region have looked after that building over those years to ensure that they had a place of worship that spoke to the community of their faith.
“Many people have been married in that church and it continues to be a popular church for weddings.
“Pomona is a community that is proud of its heritage and has a rich history, of which this church building has played a large part.”
In more recent years the Pomona church community has been instrumental in holding regular fundraising for local charities including Vinnies and Meals on Wheels.
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