Alex Falkner was preparing to travel to Wellington on Monday after his workshop was broken into and over $16,000 worth of equipment was stolen on Sunday. Photo / Bevan Conley
Alex Falkner was preparing to travel to Wellington on Monday after his workshop was broken into and over $16,000 worth of equipment was stolen on Sunday. Photo / Bevan Conley
This summer the Chronicle is bringing you another look at some of the best content of 2019. This story originally ran on April 30, 2019
A man was preparing to pack up his tools before travelling down to Wellington where he creates props and models when he discovered a problem.
Over $16,000 worth of his equipment had been stolen.
Alex Falkner received a text from his landlord on Sunday saying his Rakau Rd workshop had been broken into, but he did not believe anything was gone.
Falkner arrived to discover equipment such as a welder, nail gun, drop saw, hammer drill, hand router, a full mechanics tool kit and much more was missing.
He said it was upsetting.
"I lost a lot. I wouldn't say they were personal items, but I've been collecting my hand tools for 15 years," Faulkner said.
"I would have been a lot more upset if I hadn't had insurance, but you never know how that's going to go either."
Falkner ran a department at Weta Workshop for 13 years before moving to Whanganui three years ago for a change of lifestyle.
He splits his time working in the River City and in Wellington, where he left for on Monday after the robbery.
Falkner said he would manage to get by for now, but it would take some time to replace all of the equipment.
A welder was among the equipment that Alex Falkner discovered has been stolen from him on Sunday. Photo / File
"I'll have to beg and borrow a few things when I'm down there, but it will hopefully be resolved in the next couple of days and I can start moving forward," he said.
"It's just making sure that I get it all back. Three months down the track I might suddenly remember 'I had one of those, but it's gone' and then it's too late."
Falkner had never been robbed before and believed the offenders gained access to the workshop through a door with their own key.
He believed the sheer weight of some of the equipment meant there was probably more than one offender.
A couple of workers from other businesses share the space with Falkner, and he was not the only person affected.
