Gold Coast baby death at Surfers Paradise beach months after alarm raised
The toddler found dead on a Gold Coast beach spent its first months homeless and crying through this year’s cold winter within walking distance of central Surfers Paradise. This is the story of her final days.
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THE toddler found dead on a Gold Coast beach spent its first months crying through this year’s winter cold, homeless in a park within walking distance of the heart of Surfers Paradise.
She slept on a wooden platform, behind barbecues in Sydney Hamilton Family Park on Garfield Terrace, and was so close to the beach she could hear the ocean at night. Beside her were her father, 48, her mother, 23, and her two-year-old brother.
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“They had blankets at that time but I would hear the newborn crying early hours of morning,” a Surfers Paradise resident told the Gold Coast Bulletin yesterday. “Why was the baby left with the parents — just why?”
As a police probe continues into the grisly death of the nine-month-old baby discovered on Surfers beach about 12.30am yesterday, it has emerged that:
● Police took the parents into custody after attending an alleged domestic violence incident soon after discovering the dead baby;
● Seven months ago a distraught Surfers Paradise resident alerted Gold Coast City Council to the homeless plight of the family and it was also flagged with welfare services;
● Police have recovered a two-year-old boy in a “healthy” condition, believed to the dead baby’s sibling, now in the care of the Department of Child Safety.
CHILDREN FACE HOMELESSNESS ON THE GOLD COAST
The distraught resident wrote to the Gold Coast City Council on May 18 fearing the worst: “I’m very concerned about the welfare of a young couple with a baby that have been sleeping on the wooden platform … They’ve been there the past three nights. Can you link them with some support please?”
Council staff replied five days later, apologised for the lateness and advised the “council was not the governing body for assistance”. Details for several agencies were provided.
“It is truly hoped this family has made contact with someone and found support, especially with the chilly nights we have been experiencing,” the staff member wrote.
In the meantime a support worker from homeless services visited the family in the park but sources claim the parents refused to seek shelter. They knew where to get food handouts.
“The police came to the park early on a Saturday morning in June. They took the father and baby in a wagon,” the resident said.
“I called police to check the baby was not going to be released again with the family to sleep rough. A female services liaison officer from Surfers (Paradise) police said that Child Services were aware of the family’s situation but it was difficult to remove children and keep track when they are homeless.”
The baby’s father had been known to Gold Coast welfare service agencies and police for more than a year.
“I know they were living at Cascade Gardens (Broadbeach). We were feeding them before she had the baby,” a welfare services source said.
“He (the father) had accessed the service on and off over the years. He met this lady subsequently to that. It is thought they met in Victoria.
“They relocated up here. He doesn’t usually live here. He calls in. They are quite transitory.”
An emergency services source revealed: “They’d been living in a car (at one stage). They had been referred to Child Safety. The department was managing them.”
When asked about the family’s plight, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk last night said she “wanted answers”. “Queenslanders want answers.”
Reverend Jon Brook, from Surfers Paradise Anglican Crisis Centre, said the number of homeless living in the Glitter Strip’s tourism heart often shocked people.
“It’s there. I could take you to half-a-dozen squats a kilometre from here,” Rev Brook said.
“We are at the (Vovo hotel). You’d be surprised.
“I’ve had people say I had no idea there’s homeless people. Unless they have a mental illness or an addiction, they are invisible.”
Police investigators yesterday were questioning the parents as they attempted to build a profile of the couple’s movements. They often moved from the border with NSW to Surfers Paradise, it is understood.
Just on the eastern edge of Sydney Hamilton Family Park, hidden in bush in the dunes, is a tent full of clothes and fishing gear but it is unclear if it was the family’s quarters.
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The parents were located in Broadbeach after their toddler was found unresponsive “on the edge of the surf” of Staghorn Avenue about 12.30am by a passer-by.
Detective Inspector Marc Hogan, of Gold Coast CIB, confirmed the parents were “known to police”.
There were no visible signs of injury to the baby girl. Police, studying CCTV footage in Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach, are appealing to the public for any information on the couple who are believed to have moved frequently between Tweed Heads and Surfers Paradise.
No one had been charged last night at deadline.
Originally published as Gold Coast baby death at Surfers Paradise beach months after alarm raised
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