“Families are still reeling from shock loss”.
Damon Edward McCoy was cruelly robbed of his life
One year ago, on Thursday 21 July 2016, Damon Edward McCoy was cruelly robbed of his life in the most tragic of circumstances, at the tender age of 20 years, on a lonely stretch of road, on Mittagong Station, 27 klms South East of Croydon, North Queensland.
Damon was born on the 7/12/1995, in Townsville, making our family complete, giving us a son and a brother for our daughter Aysha, consequently making us the happiest people on the planet. His start was a rough one. After a very difficult birth for both Mum and baby, Damon spent his first days healing two black eyes, a large heamatoma on the top of his head and a broken collar bone.
He very quickly grew into a typical country boy, happily passing the days armed to the teeth with all manner of toy weaponry and forming fond relationships with his pet animals in the shape of cats, dogs, poddy calves, his much loved pet goat “Bill” and horses. He loved to go for rides on any motor bikes or quad bikes that happened to be moving. One of his favourite pastime was taking his dogs pig hunting with his mates.
As he was our only son and 5 years behind his sister, he used to take every opportunity to ride his motor bike the ten kilometres over to our neighbour’s property, Compton, on the other side of the Dutton River, where his three good Mates, Jake, Kasey and Brad Kelly lived. He spent many afternoons and weekends with them having a ball doing what country boys love doing. Whenever he could, he would also go mustering with Aysha, the men and myself, when they could con their Mum, Noeleen into letting them out of school.
One of the places on Rainscourt Damon loved the most was the Dutton river, where he would go pig and dingo hunting. It was also a place where he found great peace sitting around a fire burning on the sand in the late evening and into the night.
Schooling for Damon was a very tedious task, which in itself, made it very difficult for Noeleen to not only keep him in the school room, but keep him learning, as he did his primary schooling by Distance education. After a number of very difficult years in the school room and quite a number of home tutors, we made the extremely difficult decision to send him away to boarding school earlier than planned. It was with extremely heavy hearts that we put Damon into Toowoomba Prep School as a boarder in fourth term of his sixth year of schooling.
He spent the remainder of year six and all of year seven at Toowoomba prep, which was not the easiest of times for him because it was a huge transition for him from what he was accustomed, but, as Damon always did, he got through. He was a kind hearted, friendly, respectful and very well-mannered little boy which made us very proud of him and as a result of that he made quite a few very good mates while he was there. Much to Noeleen’s and my pleasure, he always left a lasting impression on any families who kindly took him out of school to their places for the occasional free weekend.
From Toowoomba Prep School Damon went on to Nudgee in Brisbane where he commenced grade 8 and graduated year 12 in 2013. During his years at Nudgee, he participated in many sports and activities, rugby union and tennis being his first choices when it came to sport. He pursued these two sports vigorously for the first couple of years after which tennis became his passion and he became quite a proficient tennis player. He then discovered the cattle club and the Nudgee rodeo club both of which became his passion from then on. In the words of his tutors at Nudgee, Damon literally made the Cattle Club and the Rodeo club his own.
He loved every facet of his new found clubs. Breaking in and handling the cattle and teaching them to lead and show, gave him great pleasure. His passion occasionally had to be reined in by the ever tactful Mr. Brian O’Reilly, head of the cattle club. On one such occasion there was a new young bull taken to the school for breaking in and showing which was being very difficult to handle. After quite some perserverance, the young bull was still proving to be quite a handful, so Damon said to Mr. O’Reilly, “Sir, how about I take him down the back yard there and have a yarn to him with this stick?” So Mr. O’Reilly was then at pains to explain to Damon, the pros and cons of this plan being carried out in a public place and at school. Needless to say the bull got off much lighter than Damon would have preferred, at least while Mr. O’Reilly was within earshot anyway. The end result was that the bull finally succumbed to Damon’s persistence.
The pride he took in leading his charge and wearing his Nudgee blazer, with the rest of the show team, around the 1st oval at half time during the First 15 home games at Nudgee was blatantly obvious.
Damon was especially passionate about the rodeo club. He represented Nudgee in bull riding and saddle bronc at rodeos as far afield as St. Brendon’s Yeppoon. He also rode in the arena at the Great Western Hotel in Rockhampton. He considered this a real treat. In 2012, he was awarded the Will “Dingo” Comiskey trophy for “Most Consistent Rider”. The one thing that almost everybody associated with the cattle club and rodeo club at Nudgee said of Damon, was how generous he was with loaning his gear and with his time. He derived great pleasure from teaching the younger boys all he knew and helped them and encouraged them as much as he could. He was totally devoted to both of these causes. He won awards at his speech night for his dedication to and performance in these two clubs. Since his tragic accident, we have had a number of boys who are now accomplished and passionate competitors on the rodeo circuit, tell us that they would never have had the opportunity to try rodeo if it wasn’t for Damon.
Through the Nudgee cattle club Damon became an astute cattle judge. He represented his school at numerous shows, showing and judging cattle, including the Sydney Royal Easter Show, the Brisbane exhibition and beef week in Rockhampton, achieving considerable success. He enjoyed these expeditions immensely, because of the passion he had for the activities, as well as, I suspect, the social side of it, and the time it kept him out of the class room. In 2013, for his dedication to Cattle Club, he was awarded “The James Walker” trophy for “Most Valuable Club Member”. For his cattle judging achievements, the Australian Murray Grey Society awarded him the opportunity to compete at the National Young Judges competition to be held in Warnambool, Victoria, in 2014 which, regrettably, he was unable to attend.
Everything Damon did, he did to the absolute best of his ability, if it took his interest. During his education at Nudgee, he proved to be very capable with his hands. He was awarded Dux of his year 12 class in Rural Operations. He thoroughly enjoyed making things. By the time he completed year 12 he had made numerous items from wood, such as furniture, tool boxes and a dog kennel, among other things. He had also made his own magnificent swinging fender saddle under the guidance of his mentor and respected teacher friend, Mr. Tony Jensen. When we went down to Nudgee to bring Damon home at the end of his senior year, we loaded all of his gear and products he had made into the registered steel box trailer he had just finished constructing in the Nudgee Industrial shed. This trailer is well constructed and a real credit to him. He was justifiably proud of it. His Mum and I were just as proud of him for producing such a fine trailer while still at school.
Damon was a really unique young man. He was known best for the fact that he was impeccably well-mannered, considerate, polite, respectful and everybody’s Mate. In the words of his friends, “When he walked into the room, it was like someone just turned the light on, the whole mood changed.” He relished every opportunity to go water skiing on Lake Fred Tritton in Richmond with his cousins.
He was fiercely loyal to his family and friends. He loved his animals, in particular his dogs. Whilst such a kind and gentle soul on the one hand, he could also mix it with the best, in the rough and tumble which sometimes comes our way in the cattle industry, never shirking his duties.
His skills as a stockman were really coming to the fore by July last year. On top of that, after moving to Prospect on 26/12/15 on his own, later joined by his friend Harry Carrington, to take over running the property for our family, he had taken huge steps into manhood with the added responsibility and autonomy that accompanied this role, which he definitely enjoyed. For a young man his age it was a huge responsibility and he did an excellent job of it, keeping the lick up to the cattle and keeping the fences up at all times. Without doubt, being accompanied by his beloved dogs as he went about his daily chores, there would have been quite a bit of “feral pig eradication” in the mix.
In summary, Damon was extraordinarily popular. He was always the life of the party whilst being ever mindful of those around him. He loved music and dancing with the ladies. His kind and gentle soul reached out to everybody. He was incredibly generous. Giving was something which he loved to do. He treasured his friends and loved his animals. He was dearly loved by his family and he loved us back. He also respected guidance.
Our lives, and the world, will never be the same again. The pain we feel for our loss, is only surpassed by the pain we feel for what he has been robbed of. Damon’s future was a bright one with the passion he had for the land and livestock, and the passion he had for people, and life in general. Our only son, Aysha’s brother and friend to so many, has etched an indelible mark on this world which was so much richer for having had him in it, and so much poorer for losing him. He will forever be in the hearts and minds of all who knew and loved him. The true measure of a man’s success is not measured in dollars, but, by the impact he has on the people with who he comes in contact, and on that score, Damon was an outstanding success. In 2014, Damon was asked by the school to go to the Sydney Royal Easter Show as mentor with the 2014 Cattle Club. Whilst there he competed in, and won “Open Champion Cattle Parader” for which he received two ribbons, “The Mathew Thom Perpetual Trophy” and medallion amongst other prizes. Unfortunately, because of his Queensland residency, he was ineligible to go on and compete for “Grand Champion Parader”. Sharon Howard, a lady reporter for the QCL met Damon there and wrote an article about Damon’s involvement at the show. Sharon described him to me as “The most remarkable and memorable young man she had ever met”. A heart-warming accolade for any parent to hear about their son.
He is laid to eternal rest at Rainscourt, his beloved home, where he will be included in every day of the rest of our lives. Our hearts are in tatters and irrepairable. Nothing makes any sense any more. We cannot fathom what has happened to Damon and consequently, still wait to wake up from this nightmare and see him come through the front door once again. Life is just surreal.
The tsunami of love and support we have received since the ultimate tragedy took our Man from us, from our amazing families and friends, Damon’s numerous friends and our local communities has been breathtaking, and testament to the Man Damon was.
Noeleen, Aysha and myself acknowledge and thank each and every one of you.
The following is a poem written by a young Cowboy Mate of Damon’s when he heard the news of Damon’s accident, Tate Van Wel.
“For a Man I was honoured to meet and a Mate I will never forget,”
“Damo’s Ride”.
So you got flown away on angel’s wings
And people are asking why,
I heard they were short of Bronc Riders
For that big rodeo in the sky.
They say the arena is round and flat,
With ground as hard as rock.
So go on Damo, nod your head,
Don’t let him buck you off.
These horses were so rank and tough,
That many a young bloke tried.
So that’s when Damo got the call,
Cause they knew that he could ride.
With his saddle cinched,
His free hand up, he quickly dipped his chin.
His face wore not a frown or furrow,
But a big old Cowboy grin.
He’s spurring like a madman,
Raking that fiery hide.
The bronc is twisting like a snake,
But Damo was born to ride!
He’s got the heart and guts to make
The prestigious short go round.
But win or lose he’ll be cheerin’ on.
A more genuine bloke, I’ve not found.
He’ll make the bell and get a score,
An’ a pick-up b’fore a nasty wreck.
Then straight to the bar for an ice-cold Rum,
He’s got it spent before they give him the cheque.
But all-in-all a splendid bloke,
To find better would be quite a feat.
But I’d not be the same if it weren’t for him.
Damon McCoy, it was a pleasure to meet.
So if there’s one last thing, O’Lord,
That we can ask of you,
Is that you love and cherish him,
As we will always do.
And when he gets strapped down, O’Lord,
Be ready on the gate,
For when he nods his head, O’Lord,
You’d better not be late!
