The Basin pub The Acorn pays tribute to police killed in Eastern Freeway crash
Pubs across the country are closed but that didn’t stop the owner of a watering hole in The Basin from paying tribute to the officers killed in the Eastern Freeway crash.
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A sign paying tribute to the four officers killed in the horror Eastern Freeway crash has been unveiled at a pub in The Basin.
The Acorn Bar and Restaurant owner Tony Eastwood said he has been overwhelmed by the community response to the tribute, which includes the images of Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor, Senior Constable Kevin King, Constable Glen Humphris and Constable Josh Prestney.
Mr Eastwood said he would normally open up his pub and organise a tribute or wake for the fallen officers, but with all pubs closed during Victoria’s coronavirus lockdown he decided to create the tribute outside.
“I can’t open my pub but what I can do is give some respect on the outside of my building,” he said.
Kilsyth company MotoSign completed the work, which includes the message ‘We Stand With You’ and urges people to donate to the Victorian Police Legacy Remembrance Fund.
MotoSign owner Matthew Adams said the business was proud to be able to show its respect to the officers and their families.
“We have a lot of respect for the police doing their jobs and the danger they face so we were more than happy to get involved,” he said.
Mr Eastwood has also installed blue lights to light up the pub at night in a sign of respect to police.
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He said hundreds of people had reached out to thank him about the tribute on Facebook, including members of the Nunawading highway patrol where Senior Constable King was a member.
“I’m speechless by the response,” Mr Eastwood said.
“The amount of people stopping to look and people in the street saying ‘What you’ve done is amazing, thank you so much’ has been overwhelming.”
Fire brigades across Victoria also paid tribute to the officers yesterday sounding their sirens four times as a mark of respect at 5.40pm, the time of the crash.