Adopted Coffs Harbour man’s search unveils unexpected family

Adoptee Shane-David Roberts-Wright couldn’t predict how a three-decade search for family would end, as unbeknown to him, a sibling he didn’t know he had began searching for him too.

Coffs Harbour man Shane-David Roberts-Wright had a happy childhood growing up with his adoptive parents in Armidale but was interested in searching for his roots.

Call it fate.

Last year Shane-David Roberts-Wright and his younger sister Veronica Davidson didn’t know each other at all.

Not only that – but they had no idea they were independently searching for one another, and would find each other – on the exact same day.

Five minutes after Mr Roberts (before he added the Shane and the Wright to his name) had gone to an adoption Facebook group DNA Search Angels to get help with test results, Ms Davidson began her own search for her long-lost brother through another Facebook group Adopted in Australia.

David Roberts, as he was known then, was born in Hillcrest Private Hospital in Merewether, Newcastle in 1955 and grew up in Armidale with his adoptive parents.

When Mr Roberts-Wright got a call from his DNA search angel that morning they told him they had some bad news and some good news.

And the good news came with a seriously big bonus.

Unfortunately his mother, Ann Elizabeth Wright, had died just six months earlier but he had not one – but five surviving siblings.

Both believe they found each other on that fateful day because of the influence of their mother.

As a result of his adoption reunion, the 69-year-old wished to honour both adoptive and biological sides of his family and has blended his name.

“Our honest belief is that mum influenced that to happen from beyond the grave,” Mr Roberts-Wright told the Coffs Coast Advocate.

He was “blown away” because he hadn’t really thought about the possibility of finding siblings – let alone five.

“Now suddenly I’ve got this family who all want me to be part of their lives,” he said.

Shane-David Roberts-Wright with his 'bonus siblings' Veronica Davidson, Alicia Nicholls, Ron McConnell, Trevor McConnell at Faulkner Memorial Gardens where their brother Michael McConnell rests.

At the time of the search and reunion, Mr Roberts-Wrights’ five surviving siblings were all aware of their eldest brother, but it hadn’t always been that way.

It was his sister Veronica who had first learnt about ‘baby Shane’.

“Mum had kept a newborn photo of me on her kitchen dresser all her life,” Mr Roberts-Wright said.

“Veronica recalls when she was about 13-years-old that Mum was in an emotional state and told her that’s not your sister – it’s baby Shane,” he said.

His other siblings found out in the later years of his mother’s life.

Since the siblings lost their mother in March 2023, finding Shane-David – who has a different father – has helped them to feel more connected.

“I’ve been told that I’m a blessing to the family,” Mr Roberts-Wright said.

And for the first time in his life he can see himself reflected in others, especially in his brother Ron.

“We laugh the same, we have the same voice, the same twisted sense of humour,” he said.

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