By Jesinta Burton
The family of a WA girl who died after being attacked by a shark while surfing at Esperance have visited a memorial created for their daughter at a local beach.
17-year-old Laeticia Brouwer was a keen surfer visiting Esperance for the Easter long weekend in 2017 with her family from Mandurah when she was bitten at Kelp Beds.
Her parents Leon and Julie Brouwer visited the region last weekend to see the memorial at Twilight Beach, which surrounds a wooden replica of Laeticia’s surfboard with five jetty timbers, one to represent each member of her family.
The family of Laeticia Brouwer have extended their thanks to the Esperance community, following the unveiling of a memorial at Twilight Beach in honour of the 17-year-old.
Mrs Brouwer said the support they'd received from Esperance's community had made their difficult journey that little bit easier.
“We would like to say a big thank you to the shire and all those involved, particularly Victoria Brown (Shire President) and Matthew Scott (Shire CEO), for allowing us to have such a beautiful place to put up a memorial and for the use of the jetty timber,” she said.
The surfboard in the memorial was created by students at the Wongutha Christian Aboriginal School, and Mrs Brouwer praised it as "truly beautiful."
“The Esperance community have embraced us and supported us in so many ways in the last 15 months and this has made our difficult journey just that little bit easier.
“We will always have a bond with the Esperance community now and will continue to support the Ocean Safety and Support group and Esperance surfers.”