Grieving parents of six-year-old girl who died after falling from a cliff say their world is ‘quiet now’ during emotional purple-themed funeral

The parents of a six-year-old girl who fell to her death from a cliff said their world is ‘quiet now’ during a heart-wrenching speech at her purple-themed funeral. 

Airlie Montgomery fell from a rock ledge just 800m from her home in North Nowra, on the NSW South Coast, after she wandered out of the front yard on the afternoon of Sunday, March 16.  

Dozens of mourners farewelled the little girl, who had non-verbal autism, at Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre on Thursday. 

Many wiped away tears as they stood before the tiny, white coffin which was adorned with purple lilies and lilacs, Airlie’s favourite colour. 

In a statement, parents Corey Montgomery and Katie Arness said they were the ‘people who understood Airlie’s own little world’.

‘It’s quiet now, I never thought I’d miss the chaos of our days: Incessant vying for attention, late nights and meltdowns, mess and mayhem,’ they said. 

‘And yet, how I long for it. The normality of our lives was far from normal.’

He said he often considered himself and his partner to have been alone in raising Airlie, but the community’s response has left him ‘awestruck’.

Airlie Montgomery, six, fell to her death from cliffs 800metres from her home on March 16

Airlie went missing near The Grotto Walk (pictured), a hiking area with cliff-top views

Dozens of mourners attended the emotional service at Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre

Mr Montgomery was six hours away, working at a mine site, when his daughter went missing but at least 1,000 locals came out of their homes to help search for Airlie. 

‘Airlie tested us, but she also taught us,’ he said. 

‘She had us drowning at times, but her cheeky laugh could always lift our heads above water in the volatile yet mesmerising world that she lived in.

‘I’ve seen things that no father should ever have to see, Katie’s felt things that no mother should ever have to experience.’

Mr Montgomery said he was called ‘by a voice’ to the cliffs above ‘the Grotto’ where Airlie’s body was found.

‘(Airlie’s) image burned into my every blink, long stares, ears buzzing, and a voice calling to me, “daddy, daddy, daddy” every day in the backyard,’ he said. 

‘So a few days ago I walked those 800 metres against that buzzing noise that was gnawing at me and I sat at the edge of those cliffs on my own.’

Airlie’s occupational therapist and speech pathologist, Emma, said the six-year-old had lived in her own ‘magical’ world.

Airlie’ parents Corey Montgomery and Katie Arness are pictured at the service

Arilie’s tiny white coffin was covered with purple flowers and balloons

Mourners were seen blotting tears away during the emotional service

‘Airlie saw the world differently in the most beautiful way, she let us into her world, a world full of wonder, creativity and sparkle. She noticed the tiniest details that others might miss and found joy in exploring every corner of her environment,’ she said. 

Her therapist, Claire, said Airlie ‘was our friend’.  

‘While some things were hard for her she faced the world with courage and determination if she wanted to do something she found a way,’ she said. 

‘She was our friend and we were hers.’

Airlie’s aunty Jo said her ‘imagination knew no bounds’.

‘Airlie crammed more love and adventure into her six short years than some of us do in a lifetime. Her giggle was infectious, her hugs were healing,’ she said. 

Airlie went missing in The Grotto Walk, a bushwalking area with cliff-top views just four hours before her remains were found in a waterway below.

NSW Police did not treat Airlie’s death as suspicious, with officers believing it was a case of misadventure.

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