A heartbroken family struggling to deal with the deaths of a father and son has been dealt another devastating blow.
Dairy farmer Patrick Salway, 29, and his father Robert, 63, died trying to defend their home from bushfires in Cobargo in the south east of New South Wales on Tuesday.
Tragically, within 30 hours of their deaths, Robert’s mother Edna Salway died peacefully.
Dairy farmer Patrick Salway, 29, and his father Robert, 63, died trying to defend their home from bushfires in Cobargo
The remains of burnt out buildings are seen along main street in Cobargo on December 31
Dean Hancock, Robert’s son-in-law and Patrick’s brother-in-law, shared the sad news to friends on Thursday.
‘We have been dealt the most horrific and devastating blow to our family, imaginable!!!’ he wrote.
‘Robert and Patrick were two of the most amazing and genuine pair of blokes that I have ever had the honour of meeting!’
Dean Hancock (right), Robert’s son-in-law and Patrick’s brother-in-law, shared the sad news to friends on Thursday
Patrick Salway, 29, pictured with his pregnant wife Renee – died fighting the fires with his dad Robert Salway as they continued to ravage areas of NSW
The remains of burnt out buildings are seen along main street in the New South Wales town of Cobargo on December 31, 2019
Mr Hancock told of their heroic actions before they were hit by a fireball in the moments before they were about to leave their property.
‘These two heroes, were hit by a fireball less than 10metres from the back door of Rob’s house, so hard that Patrick was still seated on the four wheeler…On a 260 acre property that had less than 3 acres of bush land…,’ he continued.
‘They were in the final stages of preparing their property before leaving… Rob had been ripping his beloved paddocks up, to remove as much fuel in the path of the fire as he could.
‘As a grass and turf farmer, this would have been his last ditch effort – his final card to play.
‘Shortly before 5am, on Tuesday morning, they were gone – Rob in his tractor on one side of the fence, Pat on the bike, the other side – facing each other.
‘We are so f**kin’ heartbroken!!!
‘Today (Thursday), about 30 hours later, Rob’s mother, Nanna Salway, passed away peacefully in Bega, without even knowing about her beloved son and grandson.
‘Three generations in 30 hours.’
Patrick Salway (pictured with his wife Renee) was found by another family member after trying to tackle a bushfire attacking his family home
The family has already been targetted by scammers who created a GoFundMe page and raised almost $4,000 before it was shut down.
Mr Hancock slammed the ‘lowest piece of sh*t’ who took advantage of the family during a grieving time.
A fundraiser organised by family and friends and has already raised $14,036 of the $2,000 goal.
‘You will leave a massive, massive hole in the dynamic of, not only this family, but the whole community.’
A man walks through rubble after fires devastated the New South Wales town of Cobargo on December 31, 2019