Billie’s legacy of hope helps her mother Shine

Despite her short life, Billie Kinder has left behind a legacy that is helping other children in rural Australia.

Danny Mayson-Kinder of the b kinder foundation of Primrose Sands Tasmania is the winner of the 2024 Shine Awards. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Billie Kinder was only 12 years old when she was killed in a freak horse accident in Sydney in 2016.

Despite her short life, the junior state showjumping champion has left behind a legacy that is helping other children in rural Australia almost a decade later.

After Billie’s death, her grief-stricken mother, Danny Mayson-Kinder, channelled her devas­ta­tion and heartbreak into fulfilling her youngest daughter’s dream of being a published author.

The talented writer, who had been awarded an academic scholarship shortly before she died, left behind a collection of poems, stories and artworks that her shattered family assembled into a book called Hope – the name of the final poem Billie ever wrote.

“There was something about Billie,” Ms Mayson-Kinder said.

Billie Kinder was an avid showjumper and writer.

“My dad always used to say that Billie was an old soul, maybe she’d been here before. She just got people. She was really kind, really empathetic. She used to write poems and stories and forever had a book in her hand.

“She’d often come to me and her dad and say, ‘I’d like to write a book, what should I write about?’.

“After Billie died, it became a really big thing that she hadn’t written her book, so we collected her poems, stories and art and put them into a beautiful book.”

Billie’s mum, dad Dave and older sister Charlie registered a charity to manage the money from the sale of the books, which was then directed to Assistance Dogs Australia. Initially intended as a family keepsake, more than 8000 copies have been sold.

Billie Kinder with her parents Danny and Dave and her older sister Charlie.

Feedback from other parents in the community about the innocent wisdom and deep empathy contained within her daughter’s words, Ms Mayson-Kinder realised there was an even greater legacy Billie could leave behind.

“We had parents and people coming back to us saying that Billie’s words had instigated conversations with their children that they didn’t normally have,” Ms Mayson-Kinder said. It led to the b kinder foundation – a play on words and Billie’s initial and last name – which built on the messages Billie wrote about bullying, racism, and injustice.

Ms Mayson-Kinder, who now lives in Tasmania, took inspiration from her daughter’s musings and created a program to provide support and assistance to children and young people to help combat bullying, loneliness, mental health issues and suicide.

The program and interactive resources – which were developed in partnership with experts and made available for schools – aimed to tackle these issues by ­encouraging children in their ­pivotal early years to become kinder, more empathetic and more compassionate.

About 150 Australian schools take part in b kinder day each year and more than 50 schools are using the b kinder workbooks.

“We want to empower and inspire children to believe that they can make a difference,” Ms Mayson-Kinder said.

For her work in channelling Billie’s legacy into a valuable ­resource for schoolkids, Ms Mayson-Kinder has won the Shine Award for Courage and is also the overall winner of the 2024 Shine Awards.

Now in their eighth year, the awards – run by rural masthead The Weekly Times and supported by Harvey Norman – recognise the achievements and contributions of women across rural and regional Australia.