The outrage to the act will be wide and far-reaching, and so it should be. 

The fact that it happened only days before Anzac Day only magnifies the issue. 

But aside from the anger, a wider question needs to be asked: what brings a person to do this? 

The hand-knitted poppy wreath itself is  not worth anything and the purpose for taking it would be completely confusing to the vast majority of residents. 

The memorial itself is a significant drive out of Ballarat and would require someone to stop on the side of the road to take it. 

It is the kind of crime that is done without the thought of consequences and that, in itself, is probably the most disappointing part. 

It was only last month we were told of vandalism at the Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial in the Botanical Gardens, which also drew huge outrage. 

Thankfully, the flags that were taken during that attack on the memorial have been replaced in time for Anzac Day. 

But again, the same question needs to be asked: why would a person do this?

The people who have committed this vandalism do not represent the thousands who will crowd Ballarat’s streets in the early hours of Saturday morning to pay their respects. 

Hopefully, such an act drives even more people to show their respect this weekend. 

The theft was summed up perfectly by former Sebastopol Fire Brigade captain and life member Paul Jenkins, who said it was a “complete desecration of a memorial”.

The Ballarat RSL has also condemned it as a disgusting act, particularly so close to the 100th anniversary of Gallipoli.

In the words of Ballarat RSL senior vice president Alan Douglass: “A lot of those lads gave their lives for those scum to be here today”.

And he is exactly right. Soldiers, Ballarat soldiers, died in their hundreds.

They would not have expected memorials in their honour would be trashed 100 years after their tragic deaths fighting for their country.