Added extras: Brett Fullarton with his lost container.
JOHN VAN KLAVEREN
A HAUL of lost goods inside a recently purchased shipping container has surprised a North Geelong engineering company owner.
Brett Fullarton said he discovered the stash when he opened his new shipping container last week.
“To my surprise there were some goodies in there,” Mr Fullarton said.
“I just brought a second-hand container, I wasn’t expecting it to arrive complete with contents.”
Mr Fullarton said he received his second surprise when Monbulk Police contacted him while investigating the “brazen” theft of a container.
“I rang the seller and said there was a heap of stuff in there. We traced it back to Monbulk Rotary Club.
“It’s funny because the driver who delivered the container asked me when he delivered whether there was anything in it. He noticed it was a bit weighty when he was loading the truck, it seemed heavier than usual.
“There was a bit of stuff scattered around, it obviously wasn’t prepared for a trip.”
Mr Fullarton said he could chuckle in hindsight about his role in the quirky turn of events.
Monbulk Rotary’s Rob Clark said he noticed the container missing on December 22.
“We rang the police to report our container had been stolen. We used it to store all our memorabilia and records – it had 40 years of history in there,” Mr Clark said.
“We’d asked the local council for permission to use it. We had no idea the container was originally loaned to a local group that disbanded, so the owner reclaimed it and sold it.
“The owner twigged what had happened when he read reports in the local papers up here about a brazen container theft.”
Mr Clark said the club would offer to buy Mr Fullarton another second-hand unit to replace the club container.
Mr Fullarton was happy to accept a replacement.
“No drama, as long as it is the same colour,” he said.
