An accident with 'horrible consequences': Tributes flow for student who died in Australia Day tragedy
The father of a Macquarie University student who died on Australia Day has described his son's death as an accident that simply had "horrible consequences".
Ben Cordner, 21, died after falling 10-metres from a third-floor balcony at a Putney property on the evening of January 26.
Police are continuing to investigate Ben's death, which is not believed to be suspicious. It's understood a group of young people were gathered at the property, with police investigating reports people were jumping from the roof and balcony of the building into the pool earlier in the day.
His father Geoff Cordner said the family has accepted Ben's death, and knew it was an accident.
"There were some wonderful people who did do everything they could to try and prolong his life; in the end, there wasn't anything anyone could have done to save him," Mr Cordner said.
"There's no sense on our part that anybody else was to blame."
"It was just an error of judgement on Ben's part and it's had just obviously horrible consequences."
Mr Cordner said Ben was an "incredibly special" person who loved sport and was academically gifted, excelling in his chemistry and biomolecular science studies.
"He was always a very intelligent young man, he always had a real thirst for knowledge, that was one of the things I always enjoyed most about him," Mr Cordner said.
Tim O'Brien, principal of Epping Boy's High School where Ben was vice-captain in 2015, said his death had been a "terrible shock" for the school community, and he had been "highly regarded" by staff and students.
While academic, Ben was also loved spending time with his friends and his long-time girlfriend Laura, who Mr Cordner said was "the love of his life".
"He loved dancing, no matter where they were out and about he would always be the first one to get on the dance floor," Mr Cordner said.
Cricket was one of Ben's passions, and the news of his death greatly affected members of the North Ryde RSL Cricket Club and wider cricket community, NRRCC president Kelvin Gray said.
On Sunday the club hosted a tribute match against an English team, and named a trophy - the Ben Cordner Cup - in Ben's honour.
"It was a wonderful day, my other son Tim and I both played in the game, and that was a great moment for us to go out and open the batting together," Mr Cordner said.
"We held the cup at the end of the day, I was the winning captain and that was a lovely moment."
While the day was also tinged with sadness, Mr Cordner it was a day his wife Linda and older son Tim would "never forget," and the family was "greatly strengthened" by the support they have received during this tough time.
"I know there's going to be some really tough days ahead of us, but it's given us great encouragement," he said.
A celebration of Ben's life is being hosted at Epping Boys High School next Wednesday afternoon.