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Australia

Music teacher reunited with her stolen car and beloved 87-year-old violin

Musician Gleny Rae has been reunited with her beloved 87-year-old German-made Roth violin more than 24 hours after it was stolen from outside a restaurant in Alice Springs.

“I have to say that it was directly attributable to the ABC story,” she said.

Ms Rae said that the local man who found her car, a 1999 Toyota troop carrier, was working in his yard with his sons when he heard some activity in a street close to the CBD.

“(He) went out had a look and sure enough there were three young fellas mucking around,” she said.

“As soon as they were interrupted they did the runner… But of course, they got away.”

The gentlemen who only would like to be known as Stu, realized that Ms Rae’s high-top Troopy was like a second home as it was adorned with photos of family and friends.

“Then he saw the violin. And he was like, ‘Oh, somebody is going to be in deep distress’,” she said.

desperate to return

Gleny Rae, her 1935 Roth violin and Stu- the gentleman who found the troopy and the violin
Gleny Rae, her 1935 Roth violin and Stu — the gentleman who found the car and violin.(Supplied: Gleny Rae)

Ms Rae said that Stu did everything to try and return the vehicle and the instrument to the rightful owner, including reporting it to the police.

“He was desperately trying to find some way of contacting me.

“He ended up contacting me through the ABC Alice Springs Facebook page,” she said.

Ms Rae said she could not believe the news.

“My heart just about jumped out of my chest,

“I just felt this surge of adrenaline and excitement and hope through my body,” she said.

When reunited with her “best friend”, Ms Rae said she checked the condition of the violin and serenaded Stu with an Irish jig to reflect her celebratory mood and relief at finding the instrument she had owned for 35 years.

“Stu is a very humble gentleman… and just a brilliant person.

“I am so lucky; I am the luckiest person on this planet,” she said.

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Ms Rae said that she had assumed the car had been hot-wired in record time before learning what happened.

“Stu found a bunch of old Toyota keys just on the ground,” she said.

Ms Rae said the thieves had broken a window before trying random keys.

“Try this one, try this one, try this one — bingo. It starts and off they go,” she said.

Worn-out keys

Rick Hall is an Alice Springs mechanic and has been working in car yards all his life.

Dual cab LandCruiser
Dual cab LandCruiser utes are popular both as work and recreational vehicles. (Supplied: JP Engineering)

He said that he commonly uses older keys in Toyota vehicles up until 2005, especially when presented with cars with missing keys.

“Old Toyota keys get worn out and old ignition barrels also get worn out,

“You do find keys that aren’t necessarily the key for that particular car but if it is close enough to the original key, it will work,” he said.

Mr Hall was surprised to hear what had happened.

“Where did they get access to a whole bunch of keys?” he said.

His advice is to retrofit a kill switch.

“It’s the easiest solution and will only cost a couple of hundred dollars,” he said.

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Categories
Australia

Beloved 87yo Roth violin stolen from outside Alice Springs restaurant leaving musician devastated

An outback musician and dedicated Northern Territory music school teacher has not only had her 1999 Toyota troop carrier stolen from a popular restaurant overnight, but also her beloved 1935 Roth violin.

Gleny Rae has lived in Alice Springs for two years and is a regular on the music scene in Alice Springs and across Australia, recently appearing in the documentary I’m Wanita.

“I’ve just stopped into Simply Korean on Gap Road for a quick bite to eat with a friend between about 6:45 and 7:30pm,” she said.

“When we came out there were three cars with their windows smashed. I was cleaning my friend’s car and I was looking at that going ‘oh no!'”

It was at that moment that Rae realized that her car had been stolen.

“That’s the moment when your heart just about leaps out of your mouth and I can see the smashed glass where it was parked,” she said.

violin gone

Rae’s prized possessions of a 1935 Roth violin and two bows were also in the car.

She is desperate for the instrument to be returned.

A woman holding her violin on stage.
Gleny Rae and her beloved violin stolen this week in Alice Springs.(Supplied: Gleny Rae)

“I very rarely go anywhere without my violin and I left it in the car, in the back, out of sight,” she said.

It is the sentimental worth that has Rae desperate to find the 87-year-old instrument.

“It’s just a part of my body. It’s an extension of me,” she said.

“It was a violin that my mum bought for me when I was still at the [Sydney] Conservatory High School.”

Rae was 16 years old and was told that she needed a better violin.

“So off we went to the violin shop. And we chose that one,” she said.

Rae is deeply upset that the violin might get damaged.

“I hear that when vehicles are stolen stuff gets thrown out of them,” she said.

“It breaks my heart to think that it could be smashed or damaged for no reason.”

Crime taking its toll

A Totoya troop carrier with the doors open.
Gleny Rae’s troopy was stolen at a local restaurant on Tuesday evening along with her violin.(Supplied: Gleny Rae)

Rae’s car window was also smashed several weeks ago outside a popular bar where she had been performing.

“You can’t even go to dinner without feeling safe, or that your vehicle is safe,” she said.

“And that’s really sad.”

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She said that it is having a direct effect on lifestyles in the outback town and she has now questioned why she remains in Alice Springs.

“It’s sad for all the businesses, it’s sad for the residents,” she said.

“It’s sad for entertainers, because I know a lot of times people won’t go out to gigs because they don’t want to leave their car.”

The violin case is blue canvas and the registration number for the vehicle is C35UL.

blue canvas violin case
Gleny Rae’s missing violin case. (Supplied: Gleny Rae)

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