Mum demands Penrith Weir buoys be urgently reinstalled after daughter’s death

Emergency marker buoys have been installed at Nepean River weir where young mum Emily died on Australia Day and other people have come close to drowning.

The NSW government has rushed emergency marker buoys back into the Nepean River at the weir where one woman died and another five almost drowned in two separate incidents in the past week.

Water Minister Kevin Anderson on Tuesday said he had “immediately instructed” WaterNSW to replace missing marker buoys at the site and they had been installed late on Monday.

The Penrith weir has been the site of three accidents in three months, including an Australia Day tragedy in which mother-of-two Emily, 33, died after the boat she was riding in with family members flipped over the weir.

Camden woman Emily, 33, who died in an Australia Day tragedy when the boat she was in with her family hit Penrith Weir. Image: supplied

Days later, on Sunday, another boat carrying five capsized over the weir, while a man and teenager had to be rescued after a similar incident on November 14.

Speaking to 2GB’s Ben Fordham on Tuesday, Mr Anderson said he was “pretty cranky at the fact that it took so long to get those marker buoys back there”.

He also revealed a river-wide line of marker buoys forming a physical blockade to the weir were swept away by floods in February 2021, only to be replaced by two yellow marker buoys.

Those buoys were found to be missing in a routine inspection on January 25 – just a day before the fatal Australia Day accident.

Mr Anderson said the temporary warning buoys installed on Monday would be permanently back in place next week.

“(Then) we’ll have a discussion about a permanent line of marker buoys which will stretch the width of the river,” he said.

Emily’s mother Bev, who has asked for her family’s surname to be withheld, said the replacement of buoys almost a week after her daughter’s death was “not good enough”.

“There’s a lot of inexcusable stuff that’s gone on,” she said, questioning why the buoys weren’t replaced after they were found missing on January 25.

Emily’s mother Bev earlier said the second incident prompted her to speak out on the Australia Day death of her “most awesome, kind-heart(ed)” daughter.

“I thought the only possible silver lining was that it’d never happen again — so (Sunday) I got the shock of my life. I don’t want them to go through what we have,” Bev said.

The upturned dingy from the Australia Day tragedy. Picture: Toby Zerna

She had called for action to be taken after the buoys were noted missing meant her daughter’s death was “100 per cent preventable”.

“That should have been addressed immediately and my daughter wouldn’t have to lose that battle,” Bev said.

“Put the damn buoys back … It was 100 per cent preventable … I just can’t believe that on January 26, knowing the buoys were missing, that they didn’t close the boat ramp.”

Bev remembered her daughter, who lived in the Camden area, as a “wonderful mum” and “extremely giving person”.

“She touched so many people’s hearts. Everyone was in disbelief … she had the most awesome, kind heart.”

She also spoke about the incident, saying Emily was celebrating Australia Day by meeting up with family on the river.

“There’s too much victim blaming and it’s breaking my heart. It wasn’t my family’s fault,” she said.

“It was a family day celebration – my daughter, her father, her fiance and her two children. Three adults and two kids, just like (Sunday). It’s just gut wrenching.”

A WaterNSW spokesman said releases from Warragamba Dam had been cut in the wake of the latest incident.

“WaterNSW is co-operating with relevant authorities and NSW Police in relation to recent serious boating incidents on the Nepean River weir at Penrith,” spokesman said.

“At the request of police, water releases from Warragamba Dam have been reduced to assist in the recovery of the watercraft involved in the weekend incident.”

Originally published as Mum demands Penrith Weir buoys be urgently reinstalled after daughter’s death