Just days after the Riverton RSL memorial garden was replanted ahead of ANZAC Day, thieves returned and stole more plants from the site, leaving veterans and community members frustrated and disappointed.
Riverton RSL Sub-branch president John Connell said the latest theft was discovered shortly after ANZAC Day when a member arrived to clean up the area following the Dawn Service.
The plants had only recently been replaced after an earlier theft in April, when more than 30 flowering plants and a Peace Rose planted in memory of the sub-branch’s last World War II veteran were taken.
Mr Connell said Bunnings Riverton stepped in before ANZAC Day and replanted the garden in time for the service.
This time, about a dozen plants were stolen, mostly from the left-hand side of the memorial garden facing High Road.
“There wasn’t a lot this time, there was only probably about a dozen plants,” he said.
“They got probably 80 percent of what was put in on that side.”
Mr Connell said members were upset to see the memorial space targeted again.
“Every time we try to make the place look nice and have it ready so the general public can come and rest and have a bit of a think, something like this happens,” he said.
“One of the photos shows someone had already placed a flower on the cenotaph. People come there to reflect and remember loved ones. That’s what it’s all about.”
He mentioned the disappointment extended beyond the RSL, as nearby businesses and members of the public are also shocked by the repeat incidents.
“The manager next door couldn’t believe it had happened again,” he said.
Despite the thefts, the RSL has ruled out fencing off the memorial garden.
“We won’t be putting a fence around it because it’s there for the public,” Mr Connell said.
Instead, the sub-branch is now looking at installing CCTV cameras around the area. Warning signs about surveillance are also expected to go up soon.
Mr Connell said he did not believe the garden was being specifically targeted. He described the thefts as likely opportunistic.
“I think it’s probably just an easy target,” he said.
The earlier thefts in April had a major emotional impact on members, particularly because the stolen Peace Rose had been planted in memory of the branch’s final World War II veteran.
The City of Canning responded to the earlier incidents by increasing ranger and community safety patrols around the site between April 11 and 26, 2025.
Mayor Patrick Hall previously said the City shared the community’s disappointment and encouraged residents to report suspicious behaviour.
Mr Connell said community support had continued throughout the incidents, although one volunteer who regularly grows and donates plants for the garden had become reluctant to keep replanting them after seeing them repeatedly stolen.
Still, he hopes those responsible rethink their actions.
“They need to have a second think about what they’re doing,” he said.
“Start to think about the public and the area they’re working in. Change ways, basically.”
