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A public holiday in the Hunter River township of Singleton is quiet. Just one or two coffee shops open, and, later, a handful of people in the pub. Silence on the streets.
In that void, a mood of despair is palpable. By lunchtime on Monday, the immediate shock of the Hunter Valley bus crash – the state’s worst in decades – had turned to dread. News was filtering through that the bride and groom, and their guests, were Singleton residents. The local Aussie rules team was involved.
Bernadette Bailey, who sells antiques from a former church in Singleton, is among those in the community coming to terms with the horror crash.Credit: Flavio Brancaleone
Though the names of the dead and injured were not yet known, in a place like Singleton, everyone knows everyone. They were preparing for the worst.
“The whole town could go into mourning,” said Bernadette Bailey, who has lived in the Hunter Valley her whole life, as she began to comprehend the magnitude of the tragedy.
Bailey, 76, has been to two weddings at Wandin Estate, including her godson’s. Her nephew lives next to the crash site, a roundabout where Wine Country Drive meets the Hunter Expressway.
She was gobsmacked to learn members of the Singleton Roosters were on board. “The football here is very important,” Bailey said. “We have rugby league, rugby union and AFL – and soccer. The lot. We’re country people, and we’re into that sort of thing. And pretty close-knit.”
Members gathered at the Roosters’ clubhouse at Rose Point Park throughout the day, but requested privacy – as did the publicans who knew the team and the wedding guests. In a small town like this, discretion is valued. Outside the newlyweds’ Singleton home, ashen-faced visitors embodied deep grief on what should have been day one of the young couple’s happy new life.
Singleton Mayor Sue Moore said the pervasive feeling in the community was disbelief. She knows one injured person and is confident she will know more; she recognised the bride and groom from around town.
“Their life will be torn apart,” she said. “Everyone will know somebody, and it seems bad now, but it’ll be worse when the names come out because [it] will have another surge of impact through the community.”
It had been a horror long weekend with two crashes in the area on Friday night, Moore said. She implored people to slow down.
“Everyone will know somebody,” says Singleton Mayor Sue Moore.Credit: Flavio Brancaleone
Along with footballers, those on board the bus included The Hunter River Times newspaper’s deputy editor Alex Tigani, who was recovering from his injuries. The paper’s editor Di Sneddon said the people of Singleton were devastated but would look after each other.
“We’re a town that pulls together, but this is going to take a long time to understand,” she said. “We’ve been through difficult times before. This is definitely something that’s going to take every inch of humanity for us to get through.”
As the long wait for more information went on, thoughts turned to what might be done in the days ahead to help comfort a grieving town. Moore cancelled a trip to Canberra on Tuesday and will stay in Singleton; the council has had some initial discussions about what could be done but would let the police process play out first, she said.
Moore’s thoughts were also with the Roosters, who are part of the “fabric” of Singleton, she said. Indeed, every person the Herald spoke with on Monday stressed how much the team was adored.
Singleton residents Mitchell Gaffney and Maddy Edsell in a private moment before their wedding ceremony.Credit: Instagram
“It’s hard to comprehend how they’ll move forward, but we’ll be there to support them,” Moore said. Sneddon said the club embraced newcomers and often helped them settle into the area. “It’s just a very loving club, very much family orientated.”
Bailey – who recently returned to Singleton after 25 years in nearby Branxton, which is close to the crash site – was also thinking about how she might be of assistance to the injured and bereaved.
“I’m just sitting here wondering: what can I do for these people that are in hospital away from home?” she said. “I think you’ll find a lot of people will feel the same way, they’re that sort of people. People here are just generous and open-hearted and will be upset by what’s happened.”
Police confirmed the 58-year-old bus driver had been charged. Bailey was instinctively sympathetic, however. “It’s just a tragic accident, and he’s going to have to pay for that, and I feel very, very sorry for him.”
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