Hunter Valley bus crash: 10 funerals mark grief of horror month
In the month since the devastating Hunter bus crash, the couple whose wedding brought everyone together has been travelling to all the funerals of the victims. Sadly, it just the start of a much longer journey to recovery.
NSW
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There are just a few times in life when a person will speak in front of a crowd of family and friends with tears in their eyes. One is at their wedding. Another is a funeral.
They shouldn't happen within four weeks of the other.
It’s been almost one month since the Hunter Valley bus crash claimed the lives of 10 wedding guests. One month since a day of love, new beginnings and celebration was given the most tragic of endings.
It was Australia’s worst bus disaster this century. Not since a 1994 crash in Brisbane have so many lives been lost.
Instead of a honeymoon, newlyweds Mitchell Gaffney and Maddy Edswell have spent the first month of their marriage speaking at the funerals of the people they wanted to share their special day.
At times they have spoken to the mourning crowd, with Maddy paying tribute to her friend Tori Cowburn at her funeral on Friday.
Each funeral featured a minute’s silence for the lives lost. Angus Craig. Rebecca Mullen. Kane Symons. Lynan and Andrew Scott. Zach Bray. Tori Cowburn. Nadene and Kyah McBride. Darcy Bulman.
Ten friends. Family. Colleagues. Teammates. Strangers. Some were related by blood. Others by marriage. Some knew each other.
All will now be forever bound together by one horrifying crash.
The surviving family members and friends have now bid their loved ones farewell, marking the start of a long journey towards healing and recovery.
KANE SYMONS
Thousands of kilometres away, 21-year-old Tasmanian Kane Symons was remembered at a funeral in Hobart. Kane, an apprentice electrician, moved to Singleton for work. It was here he met his girlfriend Kyah McBride, who also died in the crash.
“He was a free spirit, who was cheeky, and would light up the room when he entered,” said Kane’s father, Steve Symons.
“Kane you were taken way too soon, It rips our hearts out that we don’t get to see you develop your full potential.”
ZACH BRAY
“The most painful goodbyes are the ones that are never said and never explained,” said Hayden Bray, uncle of 29-year-old engineer Zach Bray, who was farewelled on Tuesday July 7.
It was at Zach’s funeral that groom Mitchell Gaffney spoke for the first time since the crash, describing his friend and footy teammate as a “loveable labrador”.
“We will forever cherish the memories that we are lucky enough to hold together, although you will never get the chance to put the jumper on again, you will always be there by our side,” said Mr Gaffney.
He was just one of the many people who spoke for the “passionate and adventurous” bowel cancer survivor who loved flying.
“You even taught me to fly up there and gave me wings, you’ve grown your wings now,” Bray’s girlfriend Georgia Copeland-Proctor said.
“You are the sweetest man I ever met. They say that only the good die young. You weren‘t just good, you were golden. I’d do anything to turn back time, I’d do anything to rewrite this love story so the ending wasn’t so cruel,” Ms Copeland-Proctor said.
DR REBECCA MULLEN
Amid the darkness, sparks of colour lit many funerals. At junior doctor Rebecca Mullen’s service, guests wore bright clothing as a testimony to the “kind, warm and compassionate” doctor.
Dr Mullen had been working as a junior medical officer at Calvary Mater Hospital in Newcastle at the time of her death.
She was remembered by friends, family and NSW Health Minister Ryan Park as “everything we need in our dedicated healthcare professionals.”
ANGUS CRAIG
“How cruel is this loss,” said Georgia Poole, sister of Angus Craig, the first of the victims to be laid to rest.
The 28-year-old engineer was farewelled at a service in Nowra on June 26 and remembered as a “fun-loving” individual who adored his family and girlfriend Bella Liddy.
The young couple had just moved in together and were planning for a lifetime of memories when their story was brutally cut short.
“My tomorrows look different now. I’m forever a better person for having loved and been loved by you Angus,” said Bella.
TORI COWBURN
The heartbroken boyfriend of Tori Cowburn revealed he was planning on proposing to “his soulmate,” before her tragic death.
“I didn’t believe in marriage but this year something just clicked … I’d started looking at rings, I just wish I had more time,” said Tyrone Gersch.
The 29-year-old was remembered as a ‘beautiful, athletic, competitive and funny girl’, who “filled up a room with her personality.”
Maddy Edsworth spoke at the funeral, remembering ‘Torz’ as her “Singleton sister” who lit up rooms with her “infectious smile.”
“Our friendship started on the footy field, but grew beyond that … you were our Torz.”
NADENE AND KYAH McBRIDE
Mother and daughter Nadene and Kyah McBride will be laid to rest on Monday, at Singleton AFL Ground, where they both played for the Singleton Roosters, a club with which eight of the passengers who died had a close link to, including physiotherapist Andrew Scott and his engineer wife Lynan.
DARCY BULMAN
Details for the funeral for Melbourne woman 30-year-old Darcy Bulman have been kept private. Her partner Nick Dinakis was hospitalised after being severely injured in the crash.
In tributes, Ms Bulman’s friends described the forensic account as a “glowing” individual. Friend Justin Mack told the Herald Sun “she was radiant, always glowing brightly, very genuine and always there for anybody in need,” he said.
LYNAN AND ANDREW SCOTT
Young parents Lynan and Andrew Scott were laid to rest in a private ceremony held on a family member’s property. Since their death, loved ones, colleagues, and strangers have rallied around the couple’s orphaned children, raising for more than $300,000 for the for the two-year-old and four-year-old.
“Thank you Lynan and Andrew for being part of my life and sharing your family with me. I will be forever grateful that our paths crossed,” said one donator, Toni Ward.
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