Aboriginal Artist's Painting Goes Missing from Christmas Gift, Australia Post Blamed for Error
A heart-wrenching incident has unfolded when an Aboriginal artist's painting worth $4,000 went missing during its delivery to a customer. The artwork was sent via express post with tracking but arrived as nothing more than an empty cardboard tube.
Bobbi Lockyer, the Ngarluma, Kariyarra, Nyulnyul and Yawuru artist, had spent over 100 hours working on the custom commission for a collector who wanted it for Christmas. The painting was intended to be a gift, but instead of receiving her artwork, Lockyer found herself facing an empty sleeve.
The incident started when Lockyer visited an Australia Post office to send the painting. Staff instructed her on how to pack it with a new 'sleeve' that would supposedly prevent tubes from rolling around in transit. Lockyer was unsure about the sleeve and paid for the service, assuming it was safe.
However, when the customer received the package on Christmas Eve, they were shocked to find an empty cardboard tube. The customer immediately contacted Lockyer, who was devastated by the news. She had been expecting her artwork to arrive safely on time for Christmas.
Lockyer and the customer made complaints to Australia Post, but their cases were closed with the company stating that it was not packaged properly. However, Lockyer refused to accept this explanation and continued to fight for her lost artwork.
She sent invoices to prove the painting's value and asked if there was a lost and found service. Despite these efforts, she received 'cut and paste' responses from Australia Post, which only added to her frustration.
The company has since apologized to Lockyer and continues its search for the missing item. However, many are left wondering how such an error occurred in the first place.
In light of this incident, it's clear that Australia Post needs to review its packaging procedures to prevent similar errors from happening in the future. The fact that general services cover up to $100 compensation for loss or damage highlights the need for extra measures when sending valuable items.
A heart-wrenching incident has unfolded when an Aboriginal artist's painting worth $4,000 went missing during its delivery to a customer. The artwork was sent via express post with tracking but arrived as nothing more than an empty cardboard tube.
Bobbi Lockyer, the Ngarluma, Kariyarra, Nyulnyul and Yawuru artist, had spent over 100 hours working on the custom commission for a collector who wanted it for Christmas. The painting was intended to be a gift, but instead of receiving her artwork, Lockyer found herself facing an empty sleeve.
The incident started when Lockyer visited an Australia Post office to send the painting. Staff instructed her on how to pack it with a new 'sleeve' that would supposedly prevent tubes from rolling around in transit. Lockyer was unsure about the sleeve and paid for the service, assuming it was safe.
However, when the customer received the package on Christmas Eve, they were shocked to find an empty cardboard tube. The customer immediately contacted Lockyer, who was devastated by the news. She had been expecting her artwork to arrive safely on time for Christmas.
Lockyer and the customer made complaints to Australia Post, but their cases were closed with the company stating that it was not packaged properly. However, Lockyer refused to accept this explanation and continued to fight for her lost artwork.
She sent invoices to prove the painting's value and asked if there was a lost and found service. Despite these efforts, she received 'cut and paste' responses from Australia Post, which only added to her frustration.
The company has since apologized to Lockyer and continues its search for the missing item. However, many are left wondering how such an error occurred in the first place.
In light of this incident, it's clear that Australia Post needs to review its packaging procedures to prevent similar errors from happening in the future. The fact that general services cover up to $100 compensation for loss or damage highlights the need for extra measures when sending valuable items.
I'm literally shook by this whole situation with Bobbi Lockyer's painting 
. Like, who loses a $4k piece of art in transit? Australia Post is supposed to be reliable, but they messed up big time 
. The sleeve thingy just doesn't add up - if it was gonna prevent tubes from rolling around, wouldn't the artist have been told about that before? 
The customer was right to call them out on this one and I'm loving how Bobbi is fighting for her lost artwork 
. We need better tracking systems and more attention to detail in shipping valuable items - anything less is just unacceptable 
.
she must be soooo disappointed 
i mean, who gets an empty cardboard tube on christmas eve?! 
it's just not right that an artist puts in so much love and care into creating something special only for it to get lost in transit 
she was soooo excited 2 get her artwork 2 a customer 4 Xmas & it ended up bein just a cardboard tube 
especially when it comes 2 valuable items 4 thousands of dollars! I mean, how hard is it 2 pack a painting?! Australia Post needs 2 step up their game & give Bobbi her artwork back 
its not fair that she spent 100 hours working on that artwork and then it just vanished in transit 
. what kind of customer service is that? didnt lockyer even ask for proof of delivery or anything before sending it out? i know australia post says the sleeve was supposed to prevent tubes from rolling around but who checks these things anyway? its so frustrating when you spend your time creating art and then something like this happens, its not just the money thats lost its the emotional value too 
they should have double-checked the packaging before sending it out. i wouldn't be happy if someone did this to me with something worth $10. 
anyway, fingers crossed lockyer gets her art back soon 
The customer got an empty cardboard tube, like what was left in there?! That's a huge oversight and Australia Post needs to own up to it 
. This is just so frustrating, especially with Christmas being over... Can't wait to see how this whole thing plays out 
Australia Post really dropped the ball on this one... 4k is no joke for an artist, especially one who puts their heart & soul into a piece. I'm not surprised she fought back - I would've been pretty upset too! 
They need to revamp their packaging process ASAP or they'll be losing business to other reliable carriers 
!
. They're not just dealing with lost packages, they're also handling art and cultural heritage here. It's gotta be super careful when packing something of that value. I'm all for customer service, but this is ridiculous 
. They should've double-checked the item before sending it off. Australia Post needs to step up its game and make sure something like this never happens again 
100 hrs of work down the drain bc of their mistake 
anyone else think its time for a change in australia post's packaging procedures?