Oatlands Golf Club split on plan for Abdallah memorial versus development plan

The Abdallah family is clinging to hope a change to a golf club constitution will pave the way for a memorial for their children killed in a tragic crash near the golf course.

Members of Oatlands Golf club embroiled in a row over a proposed Mirvac apartment block versus a memorial garden to honour four children killed in a horror crash have called for urgent government intervention into an upcoming vote on the development which was “improperly” called.

Members of the club near the spot where three Abdallah siblings and their cousin were mowed down by a driver have sent a letter to Minister for Hospitality and Racing Kevin Anderson calling for an intervention ahead of the club’s February 23 vote on the proposal.

The letter to the state minister responsible for registered clubs said the nine board members had provided “misleading” and “inadequate” information over the planned 193 unit development.

Danny and Leila Abdallah with their children, Michael, Alex and Liana at Kings School Chapel on Monday. Picture: Justin Lloyd

Parents Danny and Leila Abdallah, - who lost their three children Sienna, 8, Angelina, 12 and ­Antony Abdallah, 13, and the childrens’ cousin Veronique Sakr, 11, when a drunk and drugged driver hit them in his ute - have been fighting for a commemorative garden to be created at the perimeter of the Oatlands Golf Club, near where the children were killed.

Instead, the club is pushing ahead with plans to develop the land after rejecting several designs for a memorial.

“Members have not been properly informed in relation to a proposal to deal with a major part of the club‘s real property assets and members seeking more than the presently restricted information to make informed decisions about the proposal have been denied access to relevant information,” the letter states.

A memorial at Oatlands for the three Abdallah children and their cousin. Picture: Toby Zerna

The letter signed by club former President Tony Steele and member Phil Yang calls for an independent person to oversee Wednesday’s vote to change the club’s constitution calling for a 75 per cent majority vote, instead of 50 per cent, on all major decisions.

“The process being adopted to allow the proposal to go ahead is improper and, at least, subverts the intentions of section 41E of the Registered Clubs Act,” the letter sent on Friday states.

“Subsequent attempts to have the board provide members with balanced information have been blocked and, when challenged, an unreasonable condition for the acceptance of the reply for publication, was imposed at a very late stage,” the letter reads.

“In relation to the general meeting proposed for 2 February to modify the constitution, the manner of calling a general meeting was improper.

“Minister, we seek your urgent intervention to ensure that members are adequately informed, that this meeting is properly run and that, given the significance of the subject matter of the proposal, members are given maximum reasonable opportunity to consider and seek appropriate advice on all aspects.”

Danny Abdallah at the memorial site.

Club members say they are not opposed in principle to the development, however, it was rejected by Parramatta Council in November due to its proposed bulk and height and lack of parking.

The development for over-55s would earn the club’s members a smart new clubhouse, among other perks.

Daniel Abdallah and his wife Leila hope if the constitution is changed and the development is not approved, it will reopen negotiations for garden memorial at the 12th hole at the perimeter of the course near where the four children died.

The current proposal at the 12th hole is where a temporary carpark and clubhouse would be erected – it’s also the spot the children were thrown upon impact.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison stepped in late last year to say he was “very distressed” by the club’s failure to help the children’s families.

When Samuel Davidson, the driver who killed the Addallah and Sakr children, was jailed for a minimum of 21 years, Daniel Abdallah told home in court “you ripped my heart out and ran over it in your car.”

Yet still he and wife Leila said they forgave him.

On Tuesday, the Abdallahs will commemorate two years since they lost their children with a church vigil to be held at Our Lady of Lebanon in Harris Park at 6pm amid a week of family forgiveness talks aimed at prison inmates, mosques, and the Jewish and Christian communities, among others.

Calls to the club, which is still owned by its members, were not returned.

FORGIVENESS AND THE SCARS OF LOSS

Danny and Leila Abdallah with their kids Liana, Michael and Alex.

The scar beside Liana Abdallah’s left eye is barely visible.

But it is a permanent reminder of the devastating afternoon in February two years ago when she watched in disbelief as a drunk driver mounted the footpath as she, her siblings and relatives walked to buy ice cream.

Her two sisters, brother and a cousin were killed on February 1, 2020.

Liana, now 12, escaped relatively unscathed but has never forgotten. “When I saw the driver in court, I realised he was still young and has got his whole life to lead in prison, I forgave him, everyone makes mistakes.”

Today the Abdallahs launch a week-long “I forgive” campaign in honour of the four who died in the tragedy, after they turned to their Maronite Christian faith to forgive driver Samuel Davidson, 31, jailed for a minimum of 21 years.

The week will see parents Danny, 44, and Leila, 37, host a series of talks to rabbis in Jewish communities, to the United Muslim Association, to Indigenous populations, Christians and to prisons and schools espousing the benefits of forgiveness.

“I learned to forgive the driver who took three of my children, I didn’t want my three surviving children to grow up angry,” said Leila, who is expecting her seventh child on March 21.