The heartbroken family of a 14-year-old girl who took her own life after she was tormented by bullies has remembered their girl as a ‘beautiful little china doll’.
About 300 mourners gathered in Katherine, Northern Territory, on Friday to say goodbye to Amy Jayne Everett, known as ‘Dolly’.
Her tearful father, Tick Everett, said his daughter ‘saw the good in this world and the good in everybody she met.’
Tick, Dolly’s mother Kate, sister Meg and family and friends packed into Casuarina St Primary School after midday on Friday.
Entire families came dressed in blue – Dolly’s favourite colour – and some even donned Akubras in a nod to her being the face of advertisements years ago.
‘Angels ride the fastest horses and dance under the prettiest rainbows’: Amy Jayne Everett, known as ‘Dolly’, was farewelled by about 300 mourners in Katherine, NT, on Friday
Silver balloons were released into the sky at the conclusion of the service as ‘I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker’ played through the speakers
Hydrangeas, Dolly’s spurs, her hat and a pony club ribbon were displayed on an altar at the service
Mourners were asked to dress in blue – Dolly’s favourite colour – and many came wearing cowboy hats, a nod to the girl who was once the face of hat company Akubra’s commercials
Her father, Tick, said the support the family had received was ‘incredible’. They had only been expecting 50 to 60 people at the service – not five times as many, as one estimate said
During the service, mourners listened to Amazing Grace and When I See You Again as they remembered the ‘kindest, (most) caring, beautiful soul’.
Afterwards, silver balloons were released into the sky – as ‘I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker’ played through the speakers.
Dolly’s body was cremated in a private ceremony before the service. Family said Kate’s mother was holding her ashes during the family’s press conference.
‘Angels ride the fastest horses,’ said the order of service
After the memorial, Mr Everett said the clan would remember Dolly as ‘kind, gentle and loving’.
‘(She) loved her animals and cared so deeply for other people less fortunate than her,’he said.
He remembered the couple had given her the nickname ‘Dolly’ after he turned up late to her birth.
‘Kate looked at me and said, “She is just like like a perfect little china doll’. The nickname stuck.
It was a devastated Mr Everett who took to Facebook earlier this week to suggest the people who relentlessly harassed his daughter should attend her memorial.
‘Please come to our service and witness the complete devastation you have created,’ Mr Everett wrote.
Dolly’s family had invited the people who bullied and harassed their beloved daughter and sibling to come to the service to ‘witness the complete devastation you have created’. Instead, they were surrounded by loved ones (pictured)
‘Everyone’ inside was in tears, a mourner said after the service at Casuarina St Primary School
He was right, a mourner said – ‘everyone’ inside was in tears, but they were also coming together.
‘Everyone was crying inside – the songs they used, the lyrics made everyone cry,’ a mourner, 15, told the Daily Mail.
‘The kids that bullied her are from Warwick. I used to play sport with her. It was just so sad.’
The teenager’s death has become a battle cry against the horrors of bullying and the effects it has on mental health, particularly on young people.
The teenager had been the young, angelic face of Akubra hats. She will be farwelled on Friday
Even Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull paid tribute this week, calling for a renewed effort to stop bullying.
‘Dolly, you are loved and you will never be forgotten,’ he said in a Facebook post.
Meantime, the family have established a trust called ‘Dolly’s Dream’ dedicated to raising awareness around bullying, anxiety, depression and youth suicide.
They said they did not want anyone else to experience such ‘sadness and tragedy’.
Many of the mourners in attendance were already rallying around the trust – slapping bumper stickers on the car which read ‘#doitfordolly’.
‘I’m a cowgirl in heaven, with a horse by my side’: A moving poem about bullying was printed in the order of service
‘Before Dolly died, she completed a drawing and wrote the words ”Stand up, speak even if your voice shakes”,’ they said.
‘This powerful message tells the dark, scary place our beautiful angel had travelled to.’
Following the service, about a hundred of the families closest friends remained in the school yard hugging, crying and speaking to each other, a sea of blue.
Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.