Angus Craig, 28, has been remembered as a “thoughtful and generous person” at an emotional funeral service held on the New South Wales south coast.
Bus safety is in the eyes of the New South Wales Government following the fatal Hunter Valley wedding bus crash.
A new task force will examine how to improve vehicle safety – including stronger enforcement of seatbelt laws and bus driver training.
The bus company at the centre of last week’s crash says it’s cooperating with police after being handed seven defect notices.
The 28-year-old engineer has been remembered as a “thoughtful and generous person” in an emotional service held at Worrigee in Nowra on Monday.
Mr Craig grew up on the south coast but had moved to Singleton with his job at BHP, where he shared a home with his girlfriend Bella.
The couple had only recently moved in together while he worked as a fly-in-fly-out worker at Blackwater in Queensland.
Angus Craig’s partner Bella farewells the 28-year-old at a service on the NSW south coast on Monday. Picture: Supplied via NCA NewsWire
During the service on Monday, Bella told mourners she was heartbroken by the loss of Angus, who she described as “bright, thoughtful and generous”.
“It’s so hard to put into words the immeasurable impact Angus had on my life and even harder to accept the fact we’ve lost such a beautiful, kind and exuberant soul,” she said.
“He was open minded and curious, he was up for any adventure no matter how quirky.
The funeral service for Angus Andrew Craig on Monday in the Chapel at the Shoalhaven Memorial Gardens. Picture: Supplied via NCA NewsWire
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“It didn’t take me long to fall in love with the bright, thoughtful and generous person he was.”
His sister Georgia, who is due to give birth to her first child in two weeks, wept as she paid tribute to her “responsible” and “thoughtful” brother.
“How cruel is this loss,” she said.
“He was making plans for the future with his partner Bella.
Angus Craig, was one of ten people killed in the horror bus crash in the Hunter Valley earlier this month. Picture: Facebook.
“He’s with us when we say goodnight to him in the evening and he is with us when we tell him we love him.”
Mourners who attended the service were asked to make a donation to a cancer charity in lieu of flowers.
The service is the first funeral to be held after the Hunter Valley bus tragedy, which claimed 10 lives who celebrated the nuptials of Mitchell Gaffney and Maddy Edsell on June 11.
The greyhound coach was transporting 35 wedding guests from Wandin Estate in Lovedale back to their accommodation in Singleton when it overturned at a roundabout in Greta.
The tragedy led to an outpouring of tributes across the state, with a vigil held in the tight knit community of Singleton a fortnight ago.
There were hugs and tears on Sydney’s Northern Beaches as dozens paddled out into the waters to honour Zach Bray who lost his life in the Hunter Valley wedding bus crash.
The community at Curl Curl rallied around Zach’s heartbroken father Adam, who described his son as his best mate and his hero.
Victims killed in the crash include husband and wife Andrew and Lynan Scott from Singleton and mother and daughter Nadene and Kyah McBride, also from Singleton.
Zachary Bray from Byron Bay, Darcy Bulman from Melbourne, as well as Tori Cowburn and Rebecca Mullen from Singleton, also lost their lives.
The tenth victim was later identified as talented AFL player Kane Symons, a Tasmanian who had been living in Singleton at the time.
On Wednesday junior doctor Ms Mullen will be farewelled by her family and fiance in a service at Singleton.
A funeral for Mr Symons will be held in Tasmania next Sunday.