Pink grandstand named in honour of slain mum, bub at Rockhampton
On what should have been a joint birthday celebration, the loving parents of Tayla Black, allegedly murdered alongside her baby daughter, have unveiled a fitting memorial, vowing to be “their voice”.
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It’s a pink grandstand that shines as bright as the vibrant and much-loved mother and daughter it immortalises and will serve as a beacon of hope and kindness.
The Tayla Black and Murphy Margaret Stand was unveiled on Saturday morning at Rockhampton’s Gymmy Grounds, the home of Norths Chargers and Norths Knights rugby league clubs, as part of the second annual TBMM Be Kind Day.
It honours the pair, whose lives were cut tragically short at age 30 and 11 weeks respectively on August 8, 2023 – allegedly at the hands of Tayla’s husband and Murphy’s father. He has not entered any plea.
What should have been a weekend of dual birthday celebrations for Annmaree and Gerry Black was instead spent remembering and reflecting on the lives of their beautiful daughter and granddaughter.
Saturday is Annmaree’s birthday and Sunday would have been Tayla’s 32nd birthday.
Tears flowed as Annmaree and Gerry stood together to cut the pink chiffon ribbon on the grandstand.
Since the loss of their daughter and granddaughter, the Blacks have launched a campaign to raise awareness about domestic violence and promote kindness within the community.
Annmaree said its impact had far exceeded her expectations, growing from her original idea of seeing a few bumper stickers on cars to a full-blown movement that has spread across the state and beyond.
“It’s everything, this is all we’ve got,” she said tearfully.
“Tayla was our only child together and Murphy was our only grandchild together.
“This is our purpose now, we are their voice.
“We couldn’t have done this without everyone.
“I can’t even explain it … so much love from our community.”
Gerry said it was incredible to see “their girls being honoured so thoughtfully”.
“The support that we’ve had from the community as a whole, our sponsors, all the people on the committee, we thank you so much. It’s been really overwhelming,” he said.
Annmaree said the idea of the grandstand was born at the inaugural TBMM Be Kind day last year.
The Black family has a long connection with Norths, and Tayla played with the club’s first senior women’s team before becoming secretary.
“We wanted to have something long-standing to stay in place in memory of the girls and we’re absolutely honoured to be able to do this today,” Annmaree said.
“The stand was kindly donated by the Norths Knights, Dean and Brad Loram painted it and Scott Hilcher from Hilcher Signs donated all the signage.”
And, of course, the stand “had to be pink” – Tayla’s favourite colour.
Annmaree said she and Gerry have watched in awe as their incredible work has taken a foothold in communities up and down the coast.
The campaign logo which consists of Tayla and Murphy’s initials, two hearts intertwined and the words “Be Kind” is also regularly spotted on people’s posts on social media as they do their bit to spread the word.
“We couldn’t have asked for more,” Annmaree said.
“It’s not just Rockhampton, it’s in Townsville, it’s in Cairns, it’s in Brisbane.
“People travelling buy our memorabilia and take it with them and so our girls get to see the world as well.”
Annmaree said they were determined to keep driving home their important message.
“We just want to spread kindness, that’s really what we want to do,”she said.
“Kindness is contagious so let’s spread it.
“We just want to keep our girls’ memories alive and make them so Goddamn proud of us.”
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