Buddina teen celebrated at ‘Walk for Balin’ community event

Buddina teenager Balin Stewart was honoured in a community walk to mark the one year anniversary of his death after an alleged fatal stabbing outside his home.

Walk for Balin was held on Friday, January 20, 2023.

The sun came out on an otherwise cloudy day for a community walk to commemorate the one year anniversary of the death of a teenager who was allegedly fatally stabbed in Buddina.

Balin Stewart was only 16 when he lost his life after an alleged altercation with another teen outside his family home led to a single stab wound to the chest just before midnight on January 20, 2022.

Hundreds of community members gathered on the grass in front of the Kawana Surf Club before taking part in what Balin’s father Michael Stewart called a “cathartic walk” on Friday, January 20.

At 3pm, the crowd made their way north along Pacific Boulevard footpath to Balin’s memorial chair at beach access 215.

'Walk for Balin' community event to mark the one year anniversary of Balin Stewart's death. Picture: Katrina Lezaic

Mr Stewart said the chair was a place for people to come and sit, to reflect about their time with Balin.

“It was close to our heart to get that chair in, but it’s another thing for us to have people come and say how important it is to them, so thank you for that,” he said.

The walk ended at Point Cartwright where a tropical almond tree has been planted in Balin’s honour.

“In time to come I hope we all have picnics and have a big shady tree to sit under and remember Balin looking out onto the surf, what better thing to do,” he said.

Throngs of friends and family carried bunches of white flowers and placed them at both sites.

'Walk for Balin' community event to mark the one year anniversary of Balin Stewart's death. Picture: Katrina Lezaic

Before the walk, Mr Stewart told the crowd how he was “one to champion” the campaign to end youth knife crime but how he also just wanted to talk about Balin who he described as a “lynch pin” who brought people together.

“One thing is that Balin wasn’t afraid to dance in front of people, he wasn’t afraid to sing in front of people and he wasn’t afraid to laugh,” Mr Stewart said.

“So I would like everyone to sing, laugh and dance to his tree.”

After the walk, the crowd returned to the surf club where there was live music playing Balin’s favourite songs and a sausage sizzle.

Mr Stewart described how he was “blindsided” by knife crime and emphasised the importance of parents connecting with their kids.

“It’s incredibly important to sit down with your kids and get to know them incredibly well, where they can open up and talk to you about anything, is something I would encourage every parent to do,” he said.