By Kath Gannaway
The conundrum of the missing/found shoes around St Leonard’s Road in Healesville has been revealed as not so much a Healesville mystery as an international phenomenon.
Foxes … seem to be the culprit if past history, social media and community consensus is anything to go by.
In a radical departure from the Mail’s ‘Community Diary’ criteria on 18 April, we put out feelers for anyone who had lost shoes in around the east end of Healesville recently.
Local resident, Lorraine, had initially lost her own pair of new gardening shoes, and was then inundated with shoes of all descriptions turning up on her lawn and in adjoining paddocks.
She was up to 14 when the Mail photographed the collection, including a pair of Red Back work boots and an odd Red Back boot – all three in excellent condition.
The Mail was able to connect several people who had had shoes stolen with Lorraine, including Catherine Rhodes who lives nearby and was absolutely thrilled to get her almost new work-boot back.
Catherine is the school crossing warden at Badger Creek Primary School, and said she invested in good boots because she was on her feet so much.
The boot also had an expensive orthotic.
“I was so upset when I discovered the boot was missing. I had spent quite a lot of money on them and one boot was of no use at all,” she said.
Catherine is an optimist however and put her remaining boot back in its box, unable to just ditch it.
“I couldn’t bear to look at it, but I just prayed for a miracle … and it’s happened,” she said when she met Lorraine last week for the official hand-over.
Both women agree that Google, and word around the street, is that it’s those wiley foxes who cross the paddocks down by the Watts River that have a fetish for other people’s shoes … or just shoes!
“We see evidence of the foxes with feathers around from time to time, and it seems the only explanation,” Lorraine said.
A quick Google of fox/shoes backs up the theory with reports of people being outfoxed in places as far afield as Germany, America, England … even Rosebud in Australia!
Lorraine had returned quite a few of the shoes by the end of last week, but she’d also gathered a few more.
Both women agree the experience has not been entirely vexing.
“It’s just such a lovely thing for someone to do to take the time to go to so much effort to return people’s shoes, rather than just throw them out,” Catherine said.
Lorraine said she had met lots of her neighbours and seen some very happy faces.
Nonetheless, Lorraine and Catherine hoped to send a strong message to the foxes who seem to have no boundaries.
“Enough is enough … just stop!”
Anyone who is missing a shoe, call Jackie on 5957 3700.
