A one year remembrance...
"The night is about Dean"
Jason Robbins
A memorial service was held for Dean at the place
where his body was found. People have begun to call Dean the "Lake Angel"
and they honored him with shirts, a plaque and a time capsule. The ceremony
that was held in his honor is called a "Smoking Ceremony" and was held
since he was an Aboriginal Australian. There were also five hundred balloons
released at the ceremony.
The ceremony was organized by Jason Robbins of St
Helens Park:
"I went to the pond the night after it happened,
when they found young Dean, or 'Lake Angel' a
s we like to call him now. I was touched by
everyone from the community getting involved,
watching young kids, teenagers coming down
and sitting there hour after hour, just observing
silence. I thought, well, the community needed
closure to have their own farewell for the
young boy"
"I was so amazed at how many people came to
the pond to lay flowers, especially the young
kids and the teenagers that got involved.
There were giving up their toys and giving flowers,
cards and poems, and I thought the community
needed something to say goodbye"
Tiny boats were launched into
the water, candles were lit, children as well as adults wore blue shirts
which said "Lake Angel" on them.
That was the scene as many
people, family, friends and strangers came to honor, pay their respects
and remember Dean Shillingsworth at the pond where his body was found.
One boat launched by Dean's family had the words "An eye 4 an eye printed
on the side.
Donations were given to honor
Dean with a plaque to be set up at the park where the lake is. A time capsule
was buried which contained a few of the toys which had been left at the
site, for Dean. Also inside the time capsule were Dean's favorite clothes
and his Spiderman toys. The plaque sits on top of a large rock that serves
as the stand for the memorial.
Dean's cousin Brandon put his
hand print on a tree to honor him. The hand prints in ochre on a tree is
a traditional ceremony that would connect people to the deceased:
"It's to let the
kids know everything is going to be OK"
Paul Shillingsworth
"He was a good little
boy, happy, happy with his nan
and pop in Tamworth"
anonymous family member
"It shouldn't have happened"
Edmund Capan
"He gone in the water.
In a suitcase"
Chantelle Young age
3
"He was a real little cherub, he was just sweet,
a very quiet little boy"
Nicole Mills - family friend
Dean's Uncle, Paul Shillingsworth said he was having
trouble trying to explain the death of Dean to his cousins:
"All you can say was she was a sick mother.
All the
kids have their own stories about how Dean
died.
You just have to listen to the kids"
.
A disagreement had been going on about where to bury
Dean. It was finally agreed that he would be buried in his fathers home
town of Brewarrina, it was agreed that he would be taken "home":
"As white people we have to respect that. I
might not understand it."
Tim Pfitzner - Dean's Grandfather on his mothers
side
On November 1, 2007, over 300 family, friends and
people from the community gathered at the cemetery to say goodbye to Dean.
 
 
 
Through tears, Dean's older sister spoke at his funeral:
"God sent me a little Angel when he gave me
you.
And you were the sweetest Angel, Dean"
Return
to Dean's story
For information about preventing child abuse in Australia
click below. If they can't help you, ask for someone who can. NEVER
give up looking for help for an abused child!
Call this number
to report child abuse ANY WHERE in the United States!
1-800-4-A-Child
1-800-422-4453
   
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My sincerest appreciation goes out to
Diane Trembly for allowing me to use one
of her beautiful Angels to make the graphics
for this set. Please visit her site,
by clicking the link below, to see all
of her amazing work.
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