The Gnome Village in Keilor Park was recently the target of a vandalism attack, but the community is rallying against the incident – they say ‘gnome’ man can knock the beloved icon down.
On February 4, the spot next to the Calder Freeway was found in disarray with dismantled huts pushed onto the ground, snapped signs hanging loosely off branches and some porcelain residents of the village left shattered.
It caused a stir on social media, as community members voiced their frustration against the “feral” damage done to a site they “still get a kick out of”.
One such local, Susan Jennison, said it was hard to comprehend why someone would deliberately destroy something.
“I drive past the village everyday,” she said.
“I’m disappointed in any vandalism – people have put the effort into putting it up and it’s a great visual feature in Keilor so I don’t know why someone would want to damage it.
“It’s about respecting the space, that’s all it comes down to.”
Responding to the incident, a number of locals decided to organise a clean-up and replace the fallen gnomes.
“The village is something that makes you smile every time you go up the freeway,” Keilor Downs resident Despina Havelas said.
“It’s something that’s really positive and brings everyone together so we want to send a strong message to whoever did this that it’s not acceptable.
“I’ve donated a gnome to the village as well as part of rebuilding it – we’ll keep showing up against this kind of vandalism.”
Prealene Khera
