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Adrian’s parents, Gary & Robyn Brown have set up a fund to re-establish the Library at Matthew & Eric Browns, Middle Kinglake School.
Email from Gary & Robyn Brown
We see a lot of clubs are raising money for the bushfire appeals and we as a family appreciate their wonderful work in doing so.
While it will still be a number of weeks before we obtain the remains and are able to have the funeral service.
We do wish to advise however that we do not wish flowers for the eventual funeral service but rather we are arranging for any money that people which to give be given to a fund we are setting up for the Library for the Middle Kinglake School that both Eric and Matthew attended.
Their school like their house was totally lost in the fires and while the government has said it will be rebuilt, we know that funding will be required for parts of it, like the library. Adrian and Mirri took much time in ensuring that their children read well.
Robyn and I are happy for you to pass this information onto anyone who is wishing to donate but are unaware where to do so.
Gary and Robyn Brown
See Here for Square Dance Contribution
THE DAY AUSTRALIA CRIED
We love to hate Victorians throughout the footy season
Just for the fact they’re from Victoria would seem a valid reason,
They tend to think Australian Rules belongs to them, at least
In the West we simply label them the know-alls from the East.
But Australians came together, sporting squabbles set aside,
When disaster struck Victoria, the day Australia cried.
We’ve seen pictures in the papers; we’ve seen them on TV
Homes and buildings burnt to ashes, the pain and misery
The faces of survivors, the tears they tried to hide,
Gave us just the briefest glimpse of how they feel inside.
We saw the flames engulf the trees; we saw the sky turn red,
And, in the aftermath, the cars, where some died as they fled.
We heard the graphic stories of the panic they felt that day,
As the townsfolk faced decisions, should they go or should they stay?
The horrors of reality, their lives gone up in flames,
The loss of whole communities with pretty sounding names.
The toll we don’t want to hear, the numbers who have died,
On that black Saturday, the day Australia cried.
The worst peacetime disaster Australia’s ever seen,
In surroundings long regarded as being lush and green,
Drought throughout the country had left it tinder dry,
At the mercy of the fireballs that rained down from the sky
The fires that raged through the hills that February day,
Have changed the course of countless lives in every kind of way.
There’s absolutely nothing left of the futures that were planned,
Just twisted tin and ashes and scars upon the land.
Survivors say they’ll build again in their old neighborhood,
And life will become normal, and life will become good,
But their lives will be so different and they won’t forget the cost
Of absent family and friends that they have loved and lost.
No matter where you come from, or how far you may roam,
There’s some place in Australia your heart will know as home.
But above all we are Australians, State issues can’t divide
And we won’t forget what happened the day Australia cried!
Author Unknown
Reprinted from a British Newspaper
The VSDA are collecting funds on behalf of this appeal and Gary and Robyn are being kept informed of the progress.
Together from crèche to grave
An enduring love story came to a tragic end when Adrian and Mirrabelle Brown perished with their three young children in Kinglake.
They died alongside Eric 8, Matthew 7, and Brielle, 3 when fire roared through their Bald Spur Road home.
It was a horrific end to a relationship that began when Adrian and Mirrabelle met as young children in a crèche while their parents were at a Square-Dancing event.
Love blossomed in their teenage years and they married in their early 20,s.
Adrian’s sister Melanie Scholes described the couple as devoted to their children and community
“They were dedicated parents who would go out of their way to help those around them”’ she said.
“They will be sadly missed by all who knew them.
Ms Scholes said Eric, Mathew and Brielle were happy bright children.
“Eric and Matthew were ardent Essendon supporters and looked forward to their weekly trip to the football with their Dad and Pa to watch their beloved Bombers,” Ms Scholes said.
She said that both boys were smart and enjoyed school.
Little Brielle never got the chance to start primary school but her family are sure she would have shone in her own way, with both of her older brothers firmly wrapped around her little finger”.
She said that the family would struggle to recover from the loss of their much loved relatives.
Adrian and Mirrabelle were both heavily involved in Square Dancing, with Adrian editing the magazine “Squares Around Victoria”.
A special March edition is being prepared in the family’s honour.
Reprinted from the Herald-Sun Wednesday 11th February 2009.
Telling my children that Eric Matthew and Brielle Brown had perished in the bushfires was a very difficult task.
This poem is essentially the conversations I had with one of my children.
The thoughtful silences and tears can be put in by the reader.
Always Remember “Eric and Matthew were in the fires”
“Oh, did they survive?”
“No” “What, even the Baby?”
“No, even the baby has died.”
“Why didn’t they jump out the window?”
“The fire was outside.”
“Well, what could they do?”
“Nothing – there was no place to hide.”
“But I will miss them Mummy,
In crèche they were my friends.”
“I know – but what we must do
Is always remember them.”
Janice Alexander