Tributes flow for ‘caring friend’ Thomas Holt who was killed in tractor tragedy in Gympie

‘Shattered and in shock’: Family and friends are remembering a caring father who worked as a miner and was killed in a tractor rollover on Thursday afternoon.

Tributes are flowing for ‘caring friend’ Thomas Holt who was killed in tractor tragedy in Gympie.

A 64-year-old grandfather who died in a tractor rollover on Gympie's Southside on Thursday (June 3) afternoon is being remembered by loved ones as a "caring", "honest" friend.

Thomas Holt, a father of two, has been described by one of his close friends as a reliable person who was always up for a chat.

Mr Holt's 55-year-old close friend, who wished to remain anonymous, said she met him when she was 18 at the Queens Hotel in Gympie.

"He was my safe person, if any fights started or things like that, I would go and stand next to him till it was all over," the close friend told The Gympie Times.

"Tom and I kept our friendship ever since, I use to visit him every week for a cuppa or he would drop into my place for a cuppa and chat."

She said Mr Holt was a very "good, honest person" and his friends always knew where they stood with him.

"Tom was a very caring friend, always ready to help if he could, always made sure you were alright and safe," she said.

Mr Holt had two children, a daughter and son, and was also a grandfather to his daughter's child.

Before retiring about five years ago due to health issues, Mr Holt was the shaft boss at the Cloncurry gold mine.

He was a plasterer for several years before that and worked at 17 different mines in total, his friend said.

Mr Holt's friend said she heard the ambulance go past her house on Thursday afternoon and had a "bad feeling".

"I rang Tom, then messaged him and thought it was strange there was no reply," she said.

"I was shattered and in shock, then reality set in and I bawled my eyes out."

Another of Mr Holt's good friends, Terry Mcbean, said she had known him since she was a child.

"My father was his best friend," Ms Mcbean said.

"He was the most great man that I have ever known."

Ms Mcbean told The Gympie Times she remembered a funny moment when Mr Holt was leaving her house on a push bike and he rode the bike into the only tree in the yard.

Originally published as Tributes flow for 'great man' killed in tractor tragedy

Originally published as Tributes flow for ‘caring friend’ Thomas Holt who was killed in tractor tragedy in Gympie