Dolly Everett: Mourners gather to remember girl following suicide over alleged bullying
Updated
A teenage girl who took her own life after alleged bullying has been remembered by her family as a person who "saw the good in everybody she met".
Hundreds of mourners in the Northern Territory town of Katherine have celebrated the life of 14-year-old Amy 'Dolly' Everett at a memorial service.
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The 14-year-old girl was from a well-known cattle family in the Northern Territory and was once the face of Akubra, with a photo of her smiling as a child eight years ago featuring in an ad campaign.
Dolly's father Tick Everett was joined by the teenager's mother, Kate, and sister Meg, to deliver a statement after the service.
"As a family, we will remember Dolly as a kind, gentle and loving little girl who loved her animals and cared so deeply for other people less fortunate than her," Mr Everett said.
"She was loved by so many and made friends with everyone she came across.
"Dolly saw the good in this world and the good in everybody she met."
In the past week Dolly's family have launched a social media campaign to raise awareness of cyber-bullying and harassment.
The family used today's memorial to reiterate their hope of starting a trust called "Dolly's Dream" to raise awareness of bullying, depression, anxiety and youth suicide.
"We don't want another family to go through what we are going through and our vision is to establish a trust called Dolly's Dream," Mr Everett said.
"It won't bring our Dolly back, but it may just prevent the loss of another young life.
"Please just talk to your children and anybody else and remember, speak even if your voice shakes. Stop bullying and be kind and do it for Dolly."
The Katherine primary school, where Dolly attended primary education, was packed full of mourners wearing her favourite colour, blue.
Most attendees came from remote cattle stations to pay respect to one of their own — a deeply loved, young girl whose suicide left the tight-knit pastoral community reeling.
A number of speakers delivered poems, reflections and prayers for the girl who brought a soft edge to the hardness of station life.
After the service, mourners released balloons and butterflies.
Dolly was described by family as an independent soul, caring and kind to all. It was said she loved her horses and station life, was an avid artist and played a number of sports at boarding school at Warwick, in southern Queensland.
Dolly's death has sparked outrage, sadness and an outpouring of support, particularly in rural and regional communities around Australia, with many people posting videos about their own experiences with bullying and lamenting the effect of technology on children.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull also joined the cyberbullying discussion, saying in a post on Facebook much more work from government, health groups and internet companies was needed to prevent cyberbullying and minimise its impact.
The Queensland boarding school that Dolly attended, Scots PGC College, has said the welfare and privacy of the entire school community remained its priority during this difficult time.
Principal Kyle Thompson said a number of support services, including a team of dedicated counsellors, were available to any community member.
Northern Territory Police confirmed they were investigating the circumstances surrounding the young teen's death.
Topics: suicide, community-and-society, katherine-0850, nt, qld
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