A daughter has made a desperate plea after her father was found stabbed in the back and bashed to death on his South African farm just months after losing her stepmother to cancer.
The body of Hedley James Brown, 69, was discovered in his garden just 10 steps from his front door.
His daughter Robyn Waddingham, who has lived in Perth for several years, is now trying to gather the funds needed to travel to South Africa and give her father the farewell he deserves.
Ms Waddingham said the family was still reeling after the death of her stepmother Judy, aged in her 60s, from cancer and Covid-19 complications about six months ago.
While her sister, who lives in Scotland, and her brother, who lives in London, were able to travel to South Africa for their mother’s funeral, Western Australia’s hard border meant Ms Waddingham could only view the memorial online.
“Her death shook us completely — she was everything to our family,” Ms Waddingham told NCA NewsWire on Tuesday.
The “brutal murder” of her father has now left them in tatters again.
“He was a very well known man in everything he did,” Ms Waddingham said.
“You hear about it (murders of this kind), and you know it happens in South Africa, but you don’t expect it to happen to your family. It really hits home.
“For them, they learn to deal with it. It’s everyday life for them — that’s how they live.”
Ms Waddingham described her father as a “social butterfly, through and through” and a loveable “teddy bear”.
“He would walk into a shopping centre mall … he’d start talking to someone … then he would literally be able to tell you their life story,” she said.
“He had such a love for life. He had a smile that would light up a room … and a belly laugh you could hear down the hall.
“He loved his kids. He would do anything for us.”
Ms Waddingham said during her last phone conversation with her father they discussed his plans for the farm.
The last time she was able to see her father in person was in 2019 when the family travelled to the UK where her boyfriend at the time wanted to meet Mr Brown before he proposed.
The couple married in December 2020 but her father could not be there due to Covid-19 restrictions.
The investigation into Mr Brown’s murder is ongoing and Ms Waddingham will speak to police when she travels to South Africa.
“I think the trauma of how he died is enough,” she said.
Only a few items appeared to have been stolen from the farm, including some guns, Ms Waddingham said.
Tributes have been pouring in for Mr Brown since his death, including the Amanzimtoti Rugby Club.
“Our Terrier Hearts are broken today,” the club wrote on social media.
“We are deeply saddened by the news that a legend of Toti rugby, Hedley James Brown, became a victim of another senseless farm murder over the past weekend.”
A GoFundMe page has been set up by Ms Waddingham’s husband to help pay for the family’s travel, quarantine and the funeral.
More than $10,000 has been raised so far.
