Ethan Durnsford remembered for love of life, family and friends after Peak Downs Highway crash

He had just started an apprenticeship that would one day lead to his dream job – running his grandparents’ farm and living life on the land – before he was tragically killed in a crash on the Peak Downs Highway.

He was three weeks into his dream boilermaking apprenticeship that would one day help him run his grandad’s farm.

It was something Ethan Durnsford wanted to do since the days his maternal grandfather Allan Webster would drive him and his younger brother around in a tractor on the Gargett property.

A close bond between brothers forged on the land, just 22 months between them and one that had again strengthened on Ethan’s return from working at Strathmore Station in the Gulf of Carpentaria.

The 18 year old was on the cusp of his 19th birthday when his life was tragically cut short early Sunday morning in a harrowing crash on the Peak Downs Highway near Nebo.

His death has left his grieving parents with a turnstile of questions and memories of their country boy with bright red hair, worn with pride.

Mum Jenny Durnsford said Ethan had been on his way home from Moranbah where he had caught up with his younger brother Rohan on Saturday night.

“They think they’re six-foot tall and bulletproof, and unfortunately something went wrong.”

There are questions she and her husband Craig Durnsford are yet to get answers to as they come to terms with their loss.

What stands out to them, however, is that their son was well-loved and admired for his manners, work ethic and good nature.

“He rang me every night, always said ‘I love you’ before he hung up the phone, and he always made sure I knew where he was,” Mrs Durnsford said.

“He would always pick up the phone when I called.”

Ethan Durnsford (far right) with workmates at Strathmore Station in the Gulf of Carpentaria. Picture: Supplied

She had gone shopping with him in Cannonvale on Saturday, picking up a pair of prescription glasses he needed for his apprenticeship job in Townsville.

Today was to be the start of his fourth week in the job he was loving after struggling to decide whether to leave Strathmore Station in the gulf where he thrived.

Former boss Kerry Harris said Ethan was a much-loved staff member whose death had rocked his co-workers.

“A lot of my staff members here have taken it fairly hard,” she said.

“They got on really well with Ethan – he was well-mannered, a polite boy.

“It’s a terrible loss. He was a beautiful boy and will be greatly missed.”

Ethan Durnsford, 18, loved the country life. Picture: Supplied

Ethan began at Strathmore Station just before Christmas 2020 and revelled in the country life, frequently sending his mum videos of him being flown to work in a helicopter during the wet season, or from the cab of a prime mover.

Mr Durnsford said Ethan worked there for about six months but he always had ambitions to become a boilermaker.

Within 24 hours of sending his application in, Thomas Steel Fabrication wanted an interview – 30 minutes later, he was hired.

“He talked to the station owners and other workers and they said it was an opportunity he couldn’t miss,” Mr Durnsford said.

“He was working during the week and coming home on the weekend.”

Mr Durnsford did not get a chance to say goodbye on Saturday afternoon before Ethan left for Moranbah, and the next memory was two police officers knocking on their front door, asking to come in.

“I didn’t tell him I loved him enough,” a devastated Mr Durnsford said.

“I can’t tell him now.”

Mr Durnsford said his parents Stanley and Daphne Durnsford, who live in Mackay, would miss their grandson.

The couple is now struggling to come to terms with the sudden loss and navigate grief no parent should have to experience.

Mrs Durnsford said Ethan had turned a corner after a difficult 2019 and 2020, and the apprenticeship which would get him closer to his dream of running her parents’ farm had helped.

“He loved my dad. We lost my mum to cancer in April last year and it really did a number on him,” she said.

“Ethan’s dream was to get the apprenticeship and go work on the farm.

“He rang my dad every week after mum died, just to check on him and to talk.

“He had a real heart of gold.”

Ethan Durnsford, 18, loved life on the land, worked at Strathmore Station and recently started his dream apprenticeship. Picture: Supplied

Ethan and Rohan spent most of their school holidays at Mrs Durnsford’s parents’ property in Gargett which sparked his desire to one day take over operations on the cane farm.

Mrs Durnsford said the siblings would ride in the tractor, Rohan asleep on the floor and Ethan laughing at his younger brother. They would ride motorbikes all day, binge Foxtel at night and come home talking endlessly about the new shows they had watched.

“They just loved it,” she said.

“Ethan was a little shadow of my dad.”

Mrs Durnsford said Ethan was the opposite of the redhead stereotype, not one to often lose his temper and he wore his curly locks in a mullet with pride.

Ethan Durnsford, 18, is being remembered for his warm heart, red hair and all-round great nature after he died in a collision between a ute and B-double truck on the Peak Downs Highway near Nebo about 5.15am Sunday. Picture: Supplied

“He wore the ranga tag with a bit of pride,” she said.

“Redheads are very misjudged as being angry and even if he did lose his temper, underneath it all he was soft and warm.”

He was a trademark “bushie” whose dress code was a fishing shirt, black stubbies shorts and crocs or his tall boots, jeans and a button up shirt.

His cap or Akubra was never far away.

“He would always hug me goodbye, and it was never a quick hug – it was a big one,” Mrs Durnsford said.

“He would come across as gruff but when he smiled, it lit up his whole face.”

Mrs Durnsford has asked for anyone with photos of Ethan to share them, especially any that are more recent than those she has.

She has asked the photos be sent to the Daily Mercury and forwarded on to her. Email [e-mail]