Address to the Road Accident Victims Day Remembrance Day Service

by Marj Bollinger, HSAG founder and former Secretary, March 2000, Bathurst

I am humbled by the honour of being asked to participate at this ceremony today. When searching for my words I was inspired by the achievements of three young people no longer with us. I will mention later that some people have little to show for their time on this earth. David Gavin 20, Rebecca Fleming 16 and Sonya Reece 22 weren't here for long, but their achievements as a result of the HSAG are many. We can never know how many lives their deaths have saved - we can only count the ones that are lost.

Long May We Remember

We are here today to remember the victims, the ones who are gone.
I'd like to spare a thought for the victims, left behind to mourn.
The mums and the dads, sisters, brothers and friends,
for the pain in their hearts, that never mends.

Too often we hear the road toll has risen,
for some there seems no justice, others with conscience will carry the burden.
Lives have been taken snuffed out, long before time.
So often it's said, why was it theirs, and not mine?

I am the one, more fortunate than most,
our son was saved, I don't mean to boast.
I am so grateful that night, Neil he was saved,
and will always be proud that night, how he behaved.

On March 28, around two in the morn,
fate took a turn, that ensured the HSAG would be born.
'Twas the year of '92, four young people in a car,
twenty K's they had travelled, they hadn't gone far.

All they did wrong was to do everything right, then in a split second, out of the night,
a huge truck crossed double lines, on the road to it's right.
That split second, was all that it took
and two more statistics, were in the book

Near Mt Lambie, May 3 the same year,
Sonya headed westward, not knowing her end was so near.
In no time at all, under those wool bales she lay,
and all we could do for her, was to pray.

For Dave Beck and Sonya, their lives on earth gone,
but the legacy of their deaths, will long live on.
Recorded as victims, of those horror scenes,
but what of the victims, forced to live with the dreams?

The mums, dads, sisters, brothers and friends,
who live on with the memories, so vivid in their minds.
Let us remember, the victims departed,
but let's not forget, those left broken-hearted.

If it weren't for those crashes, few would know me,
the luckiest mum in the world, for my son I still see.
Some live many long years on this earth,
with little to show when under the turf.

The loss of Dave, Beck and Sonya, back in '92,
I'm sure has made roads safer, for me, and for you.
Everything happens for a reason I say,
perhaps that's why we are here to remember today

To think of the loved ones, no longer near,
and to give comfort to those left behind, with a tear.