Tamika Smith secures vacant land to build Kelly Wilkinson’s children a home within 48 hours
A generous donor has stepped up and supplied a block of land that will be used to build a home for slain Kelly Wilkinson’s three children who are now living with their aunty and uncle and their five children.
Gold Coast
Don't miss out on the headlines from Gold Coast. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A GENEROUS donor has stepped up and supplied a block of land that will be used to build a home for slain Kelly Wilkinson’s three children who are now living with their aunty and uncle and their five children.
Gold Coast entrepreneur Tamika Smith launched an appeal for labour, supplies and vacant land and within 48 hours she has secured all of the above.
MURDER ACCUSED WRAPPED IN ‘BANDAGES UP TO HIS CHIN’
Ms Smith confirmed to the Bulletin this afternoon that an anonymous benefactor had come forward and supplied a block of land.
She said the location would be kept secret to protect the privacy of Kelly’s children, aged 2 to 8.
“The family is overjoyed, they couldn’t be happier,” she said.
“Kelly had a dream when her mum passed away that she would have a brand new house surrounded by sunflowers.
“I’m overjoyed, but the most important thing is, these kids now know they are so loved and supported by an entire community.”
The Harvey Norman Gold Coast Women of the Year finalist in 2020 said she was thrilled to see an industry dominated by men stand up and protect Kelly’s children.
“This is more than a house, it’s about a lot of good men coming forth and saying we’re going to stand up and protect those kids.
“They’ve all phoned me up and said, ‘What have we got to do to help those kids?’.”
Ms Smith has been a trailblazer for fostering females in the construction sector, founding an organisation called Top 100 Women.
Ms Smith’s campaign to build a house for Kelly’s kids is proudly supported by the Bulletin and Seven News Gold Coast.
Tamika Smith seeks help building house to help family of Kelly Wilkinson
April 30, 2021
GOLD Coast developers are being challenged to dig deep and supply a piece of land to build a home for Kelly Wilkinson’s three children.
The plea was issued after Gold Coast entrepreneur and founder of Top 100 Women Tamika Smith urged the construction industry to band together to help the family out.
Since asking for help to build the home Ms Smith has been inundated with offers of assistance including from construction giant Metricon and about 30 other suppliers.
But without a piece of land the project cannot get off the ground.
“That is why we are reaching out to everyone,” Ms Smith said. “I just ask the developers, ‘what do we have to do?’”
FAMILY’S HEARTRENDING TRIBUTE TO KELLY AT VIGIL
Kelly Wilkinson, 27, died last Tuesday when she was set alight in the backyard of her Arundel home about 6.40am.
Her estranged husband Brian Earl Johnston has been charged with murder, breaching a domestic violence order and breaching bail.
Kelly’s three children, aged between 2 and 8, have gone to live with Kelly’s sister Danielle Carroll, her husband Reece Carroll and their five children.
The family currently live in a four-bedroom home and the living room is being used for sleeping arrangements.
Ms Smith, who has a family connection to the Wilkinsons, said it was hoped a generous Gold Coast developer would come forward and donate a piece of land for the home.
She said they were looking for anywhere on the Gold Coast big enough for a home for eight children.
Ms Smith said construction giant Metricon called her on Thursday offering to help but were finalising what they could offer.
In less than 24 hours Ms Smith has brought on board more than 30 suppliers including National Tiles to provide tiles and flooring, Rock Spas and Cave to donate a pool, Fujitsu for air-conditioning, Green Space and Design for landscaping, Allen Kitchens, Voltry Energy, Stratco and Civic.
“There is not a man who didn’t phone me and say ‘what can we do’,” she said.
“Everyone reached out.”
Ms Smith said Kelly’s family had been “overwhelmed” by the response from the construction industry so far.
She said Danielle and her husband were doing their best to protect the three children and help them cope with their loss.
“The good thing is their cousins are sound and they just feel like they are camping out,” she said.
Kelly’s family have also launched a GoFund Me campaign to help pay for the children’s schooling, counselling and other needs. It has raised more than $278,000.
The family is also searching for a car big enough to transport all eight children.
The appeal to help build the home has received national attention with the Bulletin and 7 News jointly promoting it. It also featured on Channel 10’s The Project.
To help with the house build, contact info@top100women.com.au.
To donate to the GofundMe appeal, CLICK HERE
‘YOU’VE GOT A TWO-YEAR-OLD LOOKING FOR HER MUM’: HEARTACHE OF KELLY’S KIDS
A GOLD Coast entrepreneur is seeking to mobilise the construction industry to help build a house for three children whose mother was allegedly murdered by her estranged husband.
Tamika Smith, the founder of Top 100 Women which fosters females into construction, wants industry members to join together for the build.
Ms Smith has a family connection to 27-year-old Kelly Wilkinson who was set alight in her Arundel backyard last week, allegedly by her estranged husband Brian Johnston.
COMMENT: WHY DV ABUSERS SHOULD BE TREATED LIKE TERRORISTS
Kelly’s three children – all under the age of nine – are currently living with their aunt and Kelly’s sister Danielle, who has five children of her own. Her living room is being used for sleeping arrangements.
Ms Smith’s stepbrother is married to Danielle — and she said her motivation for starting a campaign for a house build was sparked after she visited the family this week.
“Walking in last night, I was there for probably five minutes and this little two-year-old grabbed my hand and called me ‘mummy’ and she’s just so confused,” Ms Smith told the Bulletin.
“You’ve got a two-year-old looking for her mum. We don’t have the answers as to why she’s not here, which is why I go ‘How do we give these children any faith in humanity, how do we show them that there are good people when they’ve experienced so much heartache at the age of two?’.
“My background is construction, we’ve got a business that supports business in construction, let’s build them a house. That’s my contribution to ensure that they have the practical means to have somewhere to live, rather where they are now because it just doesn’t fit all of them.”
Queensland Police have admitted failing Kelly in the lead up to her death and promised a review of the circumstances after she’d made multiple contacts with police in the weeks prior.
Ms Smith, who says the house will be built on the Gold Coast, is asking for contributors in the construction industry to put their hand up for land, a new build, planning, materials and fittings, carpets, tiles and shower screens, and furniture.
Since the fundraising campaign was launched on Wednesday, National Tiles, Fujitsu and others have committed to helping, while Ms Smith has put the call out for the industry to unite.
“We’ve just started from scratch. We need land, we need a house, we need everything in between.
“It’s a great opportunity for the construction sector to step up.
“As a nation I feel like we walked away from their mum, so what are we doing to support the kids so we don’t walk away from them?
“I just want to ensure that we’re not another group of people that puts our head in the sand and ignores this when these kids need our help.”
A separate GoFundMe page set up in the wake of Ms Wilkinson’s death has already raised more than $240,000.
Ms Smith said the family was broken: “But they will step up and make sure those children are loved.”
“Danielle said last night, ‘Kelly would have done the same for me. If I would have passed away tomorrow Kelly would have stepped in and she would have taken my kids so I’m going to make sure I’m looking after hers’.”
Johnston has been charged with murder and remains in an induced coma at a Brisbane hospital.
To help with the house build, contact info@top100women.com.au.
To donate to the GofundMe appeal, CLICK HERE
WOMEN ACROSS GOLD COAST SHARE STORIES
WOMEN across the Gold Coast have raised their own harrowing claims of domestic violence and subsequent inaction in the wake of the horrifying death of Arundel mum-of-three Kelly Wilkinson.
Ms Wilkinson, 27, burned to death in her backyard early Tuesday morning with her children nearby.
Her ex-husband and former US Marine Brian Earl Johnston, 34, has been charged with murder.
Coast women have now aired their own alleged experiences on the Bulletin’s social media channels.
Common themes were a feeling of helplessness and frustration with inadequate responses by authorities.
Many expressed concerns about failures by police and the criminal justice system and one woman even warned in a worrying statement: “I’ll be next”.
“I’ve asked for the same help and been told they (police) can’t do anything,” she wrote.
Another claimed her ex-partner doused her car with petrol and threatened to set it alight.
“This time, everyone is outraged. And they should be. However, one month ago my family and I were in the same position,” she wrote.
“My ex poured petrol over my car and threatened to set it alight with our children in the house.
“These situations are so similar and I thank God every day that mine didn’t end worse.”
A woman claimed her ex “attempted to kill me” in front of neighbours and “they all just stood there watching and talking among themselves while I screamed for my life”.
“Nobody rang police, took footage or screamed at him to stop. Not one person assisted in anyway. None even made statements to police,” she said.
“So disgusted in my old neighbours. They should all be ashamed of themselves.”
Another woman alleged her daughter had taken her own life due to domestic violence, leaving her children without a mother.
“Some women just cannot take the threats any longer and unfortunately take themselves out, as my daughter has recently done,” she said.
“My heart is broken not only for our loss, but for all those who have lost someone through domestic violence. Enough is enough.”
Another woman said she tried to get help with no avail.
“I was involved in domestic violence for years with my ex and I pleaded for help at the station every night but they didn’t care. I felt so hopeless at the time,” she said.
Some criticised advice offered to them by police and occasionally domestic violence services.
“I was told by several police stations if I got a DVO (domestic violence order) out it might actually make him more dangerous and for my safety would be better to do nothing,” a woman claimed.
“I also got that same advice from a women’s helpline.”
Another woman said: “It’s not just the courts, it’s the police as well … they don’t do anything.
“My daughter is going through this as we speak, the amount of times we have asked the police for help and we get ignored.”
One reader said her ex-partner threatened “to kill me many times” in front of her children and she sought a protection order.
“I had copies of everything he said and he had the nerve to say I was lying to the judge but it was all there in black and white,” she claimed.
A woman said she had once been in a support group for domestic violence victims “in an unmarked building with curtains drawn for protection” and was told by a policewoman “DVOs are useless”.
She lamented “nothing’s changed”.
Women and men raised traumatic alleged experiences of family and friends.
“A friend went into her local police station with threats and evidence of said threats. Police said come back and report it when something actually happens,” a woman claimed.
Another post responded: “I personally know two other ladies that were told the same and they were living a nightmare.
“There needs to be accountability for everyone or this will not stop,” she wrote.
The Bulletin has chosen not to name the women who made the heartbreaking claims.
What residents said about Arundel Hills Country club redevelopment
A state MP has shared what an overwhelming majority of residents who made submissions on the future of the Arundel Hills Country club have said.
Full list: Every Gold Coast candidate for state election
There are more than 50 candidates standing in the Gold Coast’s state seats at the October 26 election. Find out who they are and what they stand for. FULL PROFILE LIST