By KATH GANNAWAY
LUKE Quick loved Australia Day and he would have loved the way it was celebrated in his memory at Yarra Junction on Sunday – families and community having fun.
The event, organised by friend Jason Long with tremendous support from other friends and the broader community, raised money for diabetes research and for a trust fund for Luke’s six-year-old daughter Lani’s education.
Luke died in November from complications related to diabetes.
Jason said the event was a great success with lots of families enjoying the kids activities including face-painting, drawing, the jumping castle and cricket in the afternoon, supporting the fund-raiser raffle and sausage sizzle and rocking up for the bands later in the evening.
“I’m really happy with the turnout for a first event,” he said. “The response has been great with everyone putting in to make it a success. It’s the sort of response that reflects the way people felt about Luke.”
He said he would like to see it become an annual Australia Day fund-raiser to provide a way for Upper Yarra families to celebrate the day and to raise money to help out when someone in the community loses a parent, or suffers a similar tragedy.
