Brothers of Richard Cousins thank heroes who tried to save the victims of NYE seaplane crash

THEY are among the best seats in the house and they should have been filled by cricket-mad UK businessman Richard Cousins and his sons William and Edward.

THEY are among the best seats in the house and they should have been filled by cricket-mad UK businessman Richard Cousins and his sons William and Edward.

But the reason that seats 18, 19 and 20 and Bay 246 of the SCG’s MA Noble Stand were vacant was made abundantly clear, when the shattered wreckage of the seaplane, in which Mr Cousins, his sons and three others died, was pulled to the surface of the Hawkesbury River.

In a tribute to the crash victims, the SCG decided the family’s seats would remain unused on Day 1 of the Sydney Test yesterday.

“It was fitting that those seats were left empty today,” a spokesman said.

Three empty seats, 18-20, row M, bay 246 of the MA Noble Stand that were for the victims of the seaplane crash on the Hawkesbury River. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Brothers thank heroes as tears flow

The brothers of cricket-loving millionaire Richard Cousins thanked the heroic fishing mates who tried to save the businessman and the five other victims of the fatal New Year’s Eve seaplane crash.

Simon and Andrew Cousins have arrived in Sydney to take home the bodies of their sibling, 58, his sons William, 23, and Edward, 25, his fiancee Emma Bowden, 48, and her daughter Heather, 11.

They paid tribute to the holidaying friends Todd Sellars, Lachlan Hewitt and Kurt Bratby who risked their lives diving into the Hawkesbury River just after the crash as aviation fuel leaked from the plane.

NSW police and salvage personnel work to recover the wreckage of the wing of the seaplane that crashed into Jerusalem Bay. Picture: Mick Tsikas

“We would like to take this opportunity to thank all those involved for their dedication and commitment, in particular the Sydney Water Police and those members of the public who helped on the day of the ­accident,” the brothers said in a statement released through the British Consulate General in Sydney.

As they faced the sad task of arranging the funerals, the tragedy has also shattered locals in Mr Cousins’ home village of Hyde Heath, Buckinghamshire.

“Just today I went to the village shop and the lady who runs it was in tears. The whole cricket club turned out for them at the local pub on New Year’s Day … we were all very close,” local Caroline Capper said.

The Hyde Heath Village cricket team where Richard Cousins played cricket and lived in the village with his first wife Caroline. Team picture showing Richard (bottom right) and his son Will (back row third from left)

Ms Capper, who with her husband, John, lived next door to Mr Cousins for 18 years, said that being a villager gave the high-flying boss of the world’s biggest catering firm, Compass, the “chance of normal life”.

Richard Cousins playing cricket.

A much-loved part of that was the local Hyde Heath Cricket Club. He was a committee member, passionate part-time player and when the club unveiled its new scoreboard in 2016, they dedicated it, in part, to his late wife Caroline who died in 2015 of cancer.

“Sometimes when his plane didn’t land until 2, he would still go home, have a shower and walk over if not to play maybe just to sit, umpire, have a chat,” Ms Capper said.

The Cappers said they received the invitation to Mr Cousins’ July wedding to Ms Bowden on December 30. It was to be held at London’s exclusive, Hurlingham Club.

The next day they woke to the news of the seaplane crash half a world away.

“I just can’t compute what has happened. I look out the windows from our house to theirs and realise that they are all gone … they are all dead,” Ms Capper said.