Under-fire Ardent CEO Deborah Thomas leads memorial service

The father of the brother and sister killed in Tuesday’s tragedy has spoken of his family’s devastation.

Shayne Goodchild (right), father of Dreamworld accident victims Luke Dorsett and Kate Goodchild and Kate Goodchild's partner David Turner read out a statement to the media. Picture: AAP.

‘Unfair can’t express our despair’

The father of the brother and sister killed in Tuesday’s tragedy has spoken of his family’s devastation and determination to know why their loved ones were taken from them in such horrific circumstances.

Shayne Goodchild said he had lost his only daughter, Kate Goodchild, and his youngest son, Luke Dorsett, as well as Luke’s partner Roozi Araghi, who he considered another son.

Mr Goodchild was accompanied by Kate’s partner David Turner, who wept as his father-in-law spoke of how he and their 12-year-old and eight-month-old daughters had witnessed Kate’s death.

“Kate’s tragic death has not only devastated Dave, her partner of 15 years, but it has also left her two beautiful daughters, Ebony and Evie, without a mum,” Mr Goodchild told journalists in Canberra.

“Dave was standing next to the ride holding Evie when this tragic event happened, and Ebony was sitting next to her mum when they were thrown into the water.

“Dave not only has to deal with his own grief, but be strong for their beautiful daughters. Our darling Evie is only 8 months old, and far too young to be without her mum, and he must be a rock for his oldest daughter Ebony, who saw her mum’s life taken. Our darling Ebony is only 12.

“Only 24 hours earlier, my family was on the beach, taking Evie into the waves for the very first time. It is truly devastating that Evie will never get to know just what an amazing person her mum was.”

Mr Goodchild said Kate and Luke had been as close as any brother and sister could be.

“Evie and Ebony have not only lost their mum, the deaths of Luke and Roozi have also taken away two uncles who also loved and cherished them,” he said.

“Luke and Roozi have been partners for nearly a decade and are a truly inspirational couple to everyone who had the great fortune to have known them.

“To say ‘this is just not fair’ doesn’t begin to express our despair. Their loss will be deeply felt not just among our families, but among all of their friends and work colleagues.

Mr Goodchild thanked the public for the outpouring of love and support he said his family had received from friends as well as complete strangers.

“We understand that this tragedy has not only directly affected our families, but affected so many other people around the country,” he said.

“So many of us, like Kate, Luke, Roozi and Cindy, have visited Dreamworld and sat smiling and laughing with our loved ones on the same ride they were sitting on last Tuesday.”

Mr Goodchild expressed his condolences to the family of Cindy Low, whose ten-year-old son witnessed her death.

“Like everyone else in Australia, we want to know what went wrong,” he said.

“We want to know why our loved ones were taken from us in such horrific circumstances. No-one wants those answers more than we do.”

Mr Goodchild said the next few weeks and months would be incredibly difficult for his family and asked that they be given the time and space to grieve privately.

“We do not wish to make any comment about the actions of Dreamworld or its owners at this stage and prefer to wait until further details emerge from the investigation and Coronial process,” he said.

“There have been some question about whether the company has tried to contact us or offered any assistance. At this difficult time we would prefer that any future contact from the company or the media be made through our solicitor.

“Once we have had the opportunity to better come to terms with our losses, we will be willing to engage with the media.

“In the meantime we would like to thank the media in advance for respecting our wishes.”

‘We’re here as part of the family’

Ardent Leisure boss Deborah Thomas has led a memorial service for hundreds of Dreamworld staff following Tuesday’s fatal ride accident that killed four people.

The under-fire chief executive arrived at the theme park this morning for a large private memorial for staff.

Leading a procession to lay flowers at the entrance, Ms Thomas said the service had been very emotional but also “beautiful”.

“It is very emotional, but what is important here is all of our people are here,” she said. “We had the most wonderful ceremony and we’re all here today to be part of the family — to hug each other, to provide support to each other.

“This is a great group of people. Everybody has been moved by this, everybody is suffering from this.”

Mark Schliebs and Sarah Vogler contributed to this report

Children of staff also attended this morning’s ceremony inside the theme park. Emotional staff members working at Dreamworld at the time of the accident that killed Luke Dorsett, Mr Dorsett’s partner Roozi Araghi, Mr Dorsett’s sister Kate Goodchild and New Zealander Cindy Low were in tears and declined to talk to media.

Dreamworld had announced on Wednesday that the park would reopen after today’s memorial service, but was forced to cancel after police raised concerns about the impact it could have on their investigation.