Family and friends gather to say goodbye to loved teenager Margaret ‘Maggie’ Lore

GRIEVING family and friends have paid tribute to a “loyal” and “joyous” person in Margaret “Maggie” Lore.

Mourners leave the funeral service of Maggie Lore. Picture: SAM ROSEWARNE

GRIEVING family and friends have paid tribute to a “loyal” and “joyous” person in Margaret “Maggie” Lore.

On a blustery, overcast day at Turnbull Funerals at North Hobart, about 400 people attended the emotional service for the popular Richmond teenager who lost her life in a cliff fall on Saturday.

Celebrant Danielle Conlan told the packed service Ms Lore was “an old soul with wisdom beyond her years”.

A photo of Maggie Lore from the memorial card. Picture: SUPPLIED

Family and friends described Ms Lore as a girl with a contagious smile, who loved dancing, singing and parties, and had a deep love for animals and nature.

Her best friend of 12 years, Amy, said she was struggling to comprehend how easy it was to lose her best mate.

“Maggie was friends with everyone she met,” she said.

“She was uplifting, loyal and generous. She wouldn’t want us to dwell on our loss, she would want us to get on with our lives.”

Her brother Lee thanked those, many of them teenagers, who paid personal tributes to Ms Lore at the service.

“I want to thank everyone for having the courage to come up and say a few words about Maggie,” he said.

“Maggie was Maggie. She’s touched so many lives. She was bursting at the seams with joy and personality.

“There is no one to blame – her passing is a tragedy.”

He encouraged everyone to grab on to life which was “precious”.

“You don’t fully appreciate it until someone you love is gone.”

Ms Lore loved clothing and the make-up that she put on with great care, and shared a special love and connection with her father Daniel that was “an inseparable bond”, mourners were told.

One friend said Ms Lore “wasn't like anyone else and she didn’t try to be”.

Another said Ms Lore “would be so proud of how the community has come together to support each other at this sad time”.

The 17-year-old’s death is being investigated by the Coroner after she fell 15 metres from a cliff near the blowhole at Blackmans Bay.

She was with a group of six young people when she lost her footing. Police said the group had walked to the clifftop after attending a party.

Locals have since called for better fencing and warning signs along the cliff face.

A small wire fence about one metre high is all that separates onlookers from the 20m to 30m high cliffs. The area is a favourite haunt for teenagers who jump into the water.