Oatlands Golf Club directors go to ground after kids’ memorial rejected
The directors of the Oatlands Golf Club have not spoken out publicly after ruling out building a memorial for the Abdallah children and their cousin after they were killed near the course.
NSW
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The directors of the Oatlands Golf Club have gone to ground after blocking a memorial for four children killed in a horror crash on the course.
Sydney talkback radio and TV talk show hosts this week roundly condemned the decision by the board of directors to “close negotiations” for a memorial dedicated to Abdallah children Sienna, 8, Angelina, 12, and Antony, 13, and their cousin Veronique Sakr, 11.
The children were killed last year by drunk and drugged driver Samuel Davidson, whose out of control ute hit the children at 133km/h and sent them flying into trees along the 12th hole of the golf course.
A man claiming to be a director of the Oatlands Golf Club board called Triple M Sydney’s breakfast radio show “Moonman in the Morning” protesting Lawrence Mooney’s coverage of the issue, but hung up when asked to speak on air.
“When we were talking about (the memorial) we got a call from a man who claimed he was a board member of the Oatlands Golf Club,” Mooney said on air.
“He gave (radio producer Jana Hocking) a massive serve … he said we have it wrong, the family refused to compromise and they are unrelenting.
“Jana said we have this bloke on the line, he was yelling, but when I asked to speak to him he hung up.”
2GB radio host Deb Knight this week told her listeners the board of directors declined repeated offers to appear on her show.
“I made contact with the general manager of the Oatlands Golf Club, giving them an opportunity to respond so we could hear their side of the story and I received nothing,” she said.
“They declined repeated offers to join me on the show and apparently they don’t have faith in the integrity of my reporting. If you have doubts in the integrity of my reporting, have your say, the offer’s there.”
Listeners of Deb Knight’s show called in to say they were members of the golf club and supported the memorial but were not consulted before it was rejected.
The club has shut down its Facebook page after fielding a torrent of outrage.
The club’s management could not be contacted for comment.
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