Tuesday, 3 March 2020

Belinda Airdrie

Mr BATTIN (Gembrook) (13:31): As I scrolled through Facebook the other day I saw the words from Scott Hilton that the community has lost a gem. It was something that will hit home, and it was very, very true when we were talking about Belinda Airdrie, who is a local who has done so much in our local community and who lost her life at the age of 40 to cancer just recently. Her child went to school with my daughter—her daughter, Maddi. Her boys, Noah and Will, are amazing kids. They are very upbeat. I would hope to put the words in, and I think everyone would forgive me down there for saying it, but they are probably a little bit naughty, the two boys, and she had a very strong-willed daughter in Maddi, who takes after her mum. Belinda’s husband, Ben, has been by her side continuously over the past five years during the times she was unwell, beginning a few years ago.

Belinda has been involved with the Beaconsfield Football Club for a long period of time. She has been involved with the netball club. She was someone around the club that everybody knew they could rely on, whether it was helping out with taking care of their kids, helping out down at training or making sure her kids were down there. She is someone who will be so missed from our community. I will miss the times catching up with Belinda, as I have put out in my message, just down at our local coffee shop when you would walk in and see her in the morning and chat, whether it was a story of Ben drinking too much the night before or the kids annoying her in the morning but still making her smile. When I sent a message out to her daughter to say she will be missed, the response was perfect: she had a unique smile and we will miss it.