Nambour Jewellers owner Keira Fiorenza, who was the victim of several break-ins and two armed hold-ups is closing her shop for good, largely because of the toll the incidents have taken on her.

Keira suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) from the armed robberies.

She says only the support of the townspeople had kept her in her business this long.

“Anyone in town, who’s had any incident like that happen to them, they will say the same thing ... the community support. Oh, my goodness, I have goosebumps. It’s just so precious. This town, they really get behind you. There’s a true community spirit.

“I would really like just to thank the community for all of their ongoing support over the many years.

“I’ve worked here for 18 years, but I’ve owned the shop for about eight years. And the support from this town has helped me through so much. Which has made it super hard for me to leave the shop. 

“But the new landlords want to renovate the shop. So I thought, ‘Well, I can relocate or I can try something new in life’. And I opted for change. I’m going to be a support worker.”

Keira said the first robbery happened seven years ago. “He was running toward the shop and I thought he had a gun. He was covered from head to toe.  Anyway, he had a hammer, but I thought it was a gun, which was pretty terrifying.

“And I had a few other robberies, smashed windows and stolen goods. The majority of the people involved have not been from Nambour.”

Keira said she launched a petition in 2019 campaigning for a Police Beat in town to deal with crime issues.

The petition highlighted the issue and raised media and political attention for a while. But nothing has changed since, she said.  

“It went to Parliament, but nothing happened. The idea was to get a Police Beat in Nambour. It was mentioned in Parliament. 

“And then (former Nicklin MP) Marty Hunt came back to report to me that they were actually removing all Police Beats. 

“He said it wasn’t even going to be a thing anymore. Instead they were going to introduce mobile Police Beats from vans. But I’ve never even seen anything like that around Nambour.”

Two petitions and 16 years later the problems are the same

Ironically, while organising the 2019 petition – which went to Parliament and was signed by over 2000 people – an older petition came to light, one that gained thousands of followers. It was organised in 2006.

• If you want to support Keira she’s having a massive Closing Down Sale from now until Christmas Eve.