How The Ash Memorial Foundation Was Born

On the 4th of October 2022 our eldest son was involved in a single vehicle accident. He spent 3 days in
ICU at the Cairns Base Hospital. Unfortunately, due to medical complications we lost him at the
young age of 19.
Back in 2023 I was asked if we could do something in honour of Ash and fundraise to donate to
something in his name. I took some time to think about it and agreed it was a great idea. The next step
was to decide who to give the money raised to. There are so many worthy charities out there. I wanted
something that would reflect the type of person he was. Ash was fun loving and care free. Nothing
was too much for him; he would give you the shirt of his back if he could. He had a promising future
ahead of him and was only a few months shy of finishing his apprenticeship as a boat mechanic.
I thought about it a lot! When Ash was growing up, he played football for the Malanda Eels. He would
make it into representative teams travelling to various towns to play football. I remembered how
difficult it was to keep finding the money for him to attend these events. This made me think; maybe
we could help young children financially achieve their dreams. So the idea of the “Ash Memorial
Foundation” was born. The foundation will supply grants for all schooling & sporting events through a
grant process. The Ash Memorial Foundation Honours Ash’s generous spirit by supporting families in
communities with the costs of sports, music, and educational opportunities, ensuring every child has
the chance to take part, grow, and thrive. Our motto is “Where kindness creates opportunities.”
Anyone who new Ash, knew he LOVED fishing & hunting! I mean he caught his first Marlin at the young
age of just 10. He was the type of kid who could catch a fish in a puddle of muddy water. In 2016 &
2018 he took out the Longest Barra in the Junior Section of the “Tablelands Barra Bash and was
runner up in 2017. So in November 2023 we held our first ever “Ash Memorial Fishing Comp &
Treasure Hunt.” We added the Treasure hunt in as a way of ensuring we sent a lot of happy angler’s
home, not just the select few who know how to catch that mighty fish. It was a very fitting event held in
Ash’s memory. With very minimal advertising and just word of mouth and Facebook we saw 100
anglers attend. It was a family fun filled weekend. It turned out to be a huge success so in November
2024 we did it again. We nearly doubled our anglers with 197 attending. Again, it was a spectacular
weekend.
So now The Fishing Comp & Treasure Hunt is an annual fundraising event for the Ash Memorial
Foundation. We are hoping that with each year it continues to grow which will allow us to support
more young children with their dreams, all while keeping it a cost friendly family event.