Community
12 September, 2024
Mum visits Toyah site
TOYAH Cordingley’s mother Vanesssa Gardiner has made a surprise visit to her daughter’s memorial at Wangetti Beach.
A group of close friends, including family spokesman Prong Trimble, recently visited Toyah’s memorial at Wangetti Beach and they agreed that the immediate area could do with a clean-up and paint, prior to the sixth anniversary of the tragic day on October 21, 2018.
Mr Trimble notified Ms Gardiner of their intentions and much to his surprise, she said that she wanted to help with the clean-up and painting.
The reason for his amazement was Ms Gardiner had always previously said that she would never go to the place of Toyah’s memorial.
Mr Trimble organised to pick up Ms Gardiner and, together with a small team of friends, made their way to Wangetti Beach last week.
Four hours of hard work helped to tidy the memorial and Toyah’s mother “absolutely loved it,” according to Mr Trimble.
“Toyah’s family are very appreciative and thankful of the community and its support over the last six years,” he said.
It has been a long road for the family and friends of Toyah since that dreadful day on Wangetti Beach nearly six years ago.
The well-known cars stickers have become famous across the region, nationwide and even occasionally overseas.
That original idea came from Mr Trimble.
“I was sitting on my front deck at home and I was wondering how I could help,” he said.
“I had this idea of a little sticker on my bike helmet.”
“It then went from that to a car bumper sticker and over 500,000 of them later, that’s what happened.
“There were even stickers on red phone boxes in London.”
Mr Trimble got to know Toyah’s family as a result of running a business in Cairns.
Immediately after the tragic news became public, he went to visit the family.
The story at this point had already gained much media interest.
Toyah’s relatives were understandably not keen to talk to the media, so therefore asked Mr Trimble to become their family spokesman.
He agreed and has been carrying out that role ever since.
Alleged killer, Rajwinder Singh, will face a pre-trial hearing in October and the trial is set down for February 2025.
