Stranger’s picture of family on a Sydney bench hides beautiful secret

Melanie Stevens was scrolling through Facebook when she found a stranger’s picture of her family that captured a moment she will remember forever.

A passer-by has captured a beautiful photo of a family squeezed onto a Sydney park bench overlooking the water – only to find out it would mean more to them than she ever could have expected.

Melanie Stevens’ family were spreading the ashes of her late father David Abbott, alongside her mother, Sandra, who was visiting from the UK for the first time since David passed away two years ago.

Melanie moved to Australia in 1995, and her parents visited every year until about four years ago when it became too difficult to travel due to David’s dementia.

His favourite spot was looking out to sea, sitting on a bench in Coogee, which was captured in the stranger’s photo.

A passer-by captured a special moment for this Sydney family. Picture: Lucy Bloom

“If he saw anyone sitting on it on our way he’d say ‘Someone’s sitting on our seat’,” Sandra said, adding that she thought it was fitting to spread some of his ashes there.

David passed away in the UK two years ago, but Sandra was unable to get to Australia until now due to Covid.

On the night of his funeral, Melanie and her family had walked down to the seat and left a flower.

“It will always be dad’s spot,” she said.

The family had taken some photos on Monday during the special moment but had not managed to get a picture with them all in it.

Much to Melanie’s surprise, when they got back from the beach she was scrolling through Facebook and saw the picture of her family sitting at the bench looking out to sea.

It had been posted in a private local Facebook group that she had only joined this year.

“It was the first thing that popped up on Facebook and I was like, that’s us,” she said.

David Abbott during his last visit to Australia four years ago. Picture: Supplied by Melanie Stevens

Fellow Sydneysider Lucy Bloom had taken the photo of the family and posted it to try and find them.

“I was walking my dog early on Monday morning and noticed a family neatly lined up on a bench,” she said.

“It’s such a stunning spot looking over the ocean by Coogee Beach. I snapped a picture on my phone but didn’t want to interrupt their morning chat. There was a quiet gentleness about them.”

Melanie said there were so many coincidences for it all to have fallen in to place.

“If Lucy had been half an hour earlier, she would have missed it,” Sandra added.

She said she was thrilled and amazed, and the family were so grateful to have the photo to remember the moment forever.

During the photo, the family had been talking about David and reflecting on their memories together.