Dolphins and whales surfed the waves and watched on as Kingscliff said a final farewell to a favourite son on Saturday morning at Cudgen Creek.
Members of the Cudgen Headland Surf Club, friends, family and army colleagues gathered in force on Saturday morning to farewell Sapper Rowan Robinson.
The young Duranbah man, killed in Afghanistan two months ago, had expressed a wish to have his ashes scattered at sea out beyond the bombies that he loved to surf and last week his parents and those who knew him best gathered to do just that.
Gone were the politicians and pomp and ceremony of the formal military funeral service held in the town six weeks ago as the 23-year-old combat engineer was brought home to his favourite break.
Surf Lifesaving boats and rubber duckies, the Coast Guard vessel and a flotilla of other craft filled the creek as Brian Vickery, vice president of the Kingscliff RSL and secretary of the surf club, stood beside two large photographs of the young soldier and remembered the young larrikin who loved to surf and play rugby. A young man who, Mr Vickery recalled, apologised to his surf lifesaving patrol captain that he couldn’t do any more patrols because he had joined the army.
The short on-shore service, held in the shadow of Kingscliff’s Coast Guard tower, was also addressed by Rowan Robinson’s army colleague, known only as Geoff, for security reasons.
He told of the hole Rowan’s tragic loss had left in his unit, of how his laugh and smile was missed at times that it would have been really needed.
“This is not a goodbye, it’s a talk to you later,” Geoff said.
“Take it easy, mate.”
The last post was then sounded by a lone musician on the Coast Guard tower and then poppies were placed on a table near Sapper Rowan’s pictures by the assembled crowd before flares were lit from each of the boats and rose petals were spread into the water.
And then, as the large crowd walked down the beach and watched from the rock wall, his parents, Marie and Peter, crossed the bar in the Coast Guard boat and spread their son’s ashes, surrounded by Rowan’s siblings and his surf lifesaving mates.
The surf boat crews raised their oars in tribute and formed a circle.
The group then headed back to the surf club to remember the young man lost to a family and community, way too young.
