Man charged with manslaughter after pub fight in Creswick
A man has been charged with manslaughter after a pub fight ended with the death of a "gentle giant" near Ballarat on Sunday morning. Family and friends of David Blake have remembered him as a "loveable lad" who was well-known in the tight-knit community.
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A man has been charged with manslaughter after a "gentle giant" died in a pub fight near Ballarat early Sunday morning.
Homicide detectives charged the 41-year-old man after he handed himself into a local police station about 6.30am.
Police will allege that "an altercation" broke out at the Farmers Arms Hotel on Albert St, Creswick just before 2am.
Creswick man David Blake, 39, died at the scene.
A family friend of Mr Blake left flowers outside the site of his death, the Farmers Arms Hotel.
“He was a loveable lad,” she said.
She said there had been a number of other unexpected deaths in town lately.
“This just tops it,” She said.
“The whole town will be shattered.”
She said Mr Blakes's family were devastated by the loss.
“He didn’t deserve this.”
Another family friend of Mr Blake, who didn’t want to be named, said he knew the whole family and that he had two sisters and three brothers.
The friend said he had completed work experience with him at a mechanics when they were younger but the 39-year-old “didn’t go through with it”, instead becoming a self-employed plasterer.
The Herald Sun understands that his immediate family live in the Creswick area.
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A close friend of Mr Blake – who did not want to be named – said they had known him for 30 years.“He was a big gentle giant.”
The man said he didn’t want to believe what had happened.
“I only saw him last week up in town,” they said.
“It’s terrible.”The friend said that it was a close community where everyone knew everyone.
The close friend said the family was well-known around the Creswick community.
Mr Blake's was removed from out the front of the Farmers Arms Hotel at about 9.30am Sunday morning.