$5000 raised for funeral of girl who drowned in Hawkesbury River

A GoFundMe page has raised over $5000 for the funeral of a “vibrant and cheeky” little girl who tragically drowned in the Hawkesbury River near Brooklyn last week after growing up on a yacht with her 10 siblings.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to support the Soetekouw family (pictured) ahead of Zobbie’s funeral. Picture: Julian Andrews

• Family boat seized by police after girl, 3, drowns
• Girl dies after being pulled from Hawkesbury River

A GoFundMe page has raised over $5000 for the funeral of a “vibrant and cheeky” little girl who tragically drowned in the Hawkesbury River near Brooklyn last week after growing up on a yacht with her 10 siblings.

Zeinobiyah Soetekouw, 3, affectionately known as Zobbie, lived on board her family’s 7m yacht named Sumbawa with her 10 siblings and parents Steve and Beccie.

The family were reportedly moored in Dead Horse Bay at Brooklyn before Zobbie was reported missing last Tuesday afternoon.

Paramedics perform CPR on Zeinobiyah (pictured) at Deerubbun Reserve in Mooney Mooney.

She was pulled from the water by police shortly after 12.45pm — about 100m from the boat — and was rushed to Mooney Mooney where paramedics tried to save her.

She was then flown to The Children’s Hospital at Westmead but was pronounced dead after arrival.

A GoFundMe page has since been set up to raise money for Zobbie’s funeral. As at Wednesday morning, more than $5400 had been raised.

Police seized the boat, named Sumbawa, following the drowning last week.

“As you can understand, this has been a very difficult time for the family,” friend Alex Vaughan wrote on the page.
“They have shown enormous bravery in the wake of their heartache.

“They are extremely grateful for all of the support.”

The post also referred to Zobbie as a “vibrant and cheeky little love”. It is unclear if a date and location has been set for the funeral.

Dad Steve Soetekouw’s post on Instagram about his daughter. Picture: Instagram/@outrageousmagick

Zobbie’s father, Steve, shared a heartfelt poem on his Instagram page in the wake of the death of his second youngest child, referring to her as “our desert flower”.

The Soetekouw family has been living on board their boat since December 2016 after selling their farm in Tasmania and buying the yacht to pursue an adventurous and free lifestyle.

The youngest of the 11 siblings, Shakirah, 1, was even born on board.

Last week, police confirmed they had seized the family boat following the drowning.

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Police were keeping it in a holding yard for examination and alternative arrangements were made for the family.

A police spokeswoman said, on Wednesday morning, that the boat was still in holding but police had finished examining it and the boat “should be released shortly”.