DOUBLE PAIN OF DOLLY’S DEATH
AS the waves of grief for the loss of 14- year- old Amy “Dolly” Everett continue to ripple throughout Australia, one Burdekin family is feeling the impact in a very personal way.
Burdekin teenager Breannah Piva ( pictured) took her own life in 2015, aged just 16.
Like Dolly, she had been bullied. More than two years later her mother Joanne Piva said Dolly’s death was a reminder of what Breannah had gone through.
“I think more education for everyone is the key,” she said.
“We have ads on TV for drink driving, why not this?
“It doesn’t stop after they take their life ... everyone else now lives with that for the rest of our lives.”
Ms Piva said Breannah had so much potential.
“Only two weeks after she passed, she got an invitation to a modelling competition over in Milan,” she said.
“When I was reading Dolly’s story, it’s just Breannah all over ... they were both into modelling and they could have gone so far.
“I can’t understand why it’s happened when they were both so beautiful, not only on the out- side but also on the inside.” Like Dolly’s family, Breannah’s family also lobbied for changes to laws surrounding bullying and cyberbullying in the wake of her death.
Ms Piva said young people affected by bullying needed to reach out to get help.
“Talk to your friends, talk to your family, don’t be afraid to seek help,” she said.
“Be honest with your counsellor, that’s the only way you’re going to get the help.”
Townsville MP Scott Stewart said people needed to take action to prevent these kinds of deaths.
“It’s absolutely devastating for a young woman such as Dolly to take her own life,” he said.
“Kids, because of the development of their brains, generally think in the now.”
Mr Stewart, a former high school principal, said there had been a lot of work on education programs around bullying but more could still be done.
“Young people need to know to report it to the school, report it straight away,” he said.
“For parents sitting down and having these honest conversations with their children and about setting up the safe use of technology devices in your homes.
“Have a curfew and at night keep it in the kitchen or out in the community area ... make sure the technology is used out in the open, not alone in the dark.”
IT DOESN’T DOESN T STOP AFTER THEY TAKE THEIR LIFE ... EVERYONE ELSE NOW LIVES WITH THAT FOR THE REST OF OUR LIVES. JOANNE PIVA
IT’S the unofficial uniform of the bush – jeans, blue shirt and an Akubra.
For the hundreds of mourners who gathered at Casuarina St Primary School in Darwin yesterday, the outfit they wear every day has taken on a special significance. They came from near and far, from Outback stations throughout Australia and a smattering from cities and towns.
They came to celebrate the life of Katherine teenager Amy “Dolly” Everett whose death by suicide has rocked the nation.
The school hall used to stage her funeral service overflowed with mourners, who shielded themselves from the baking January sun under hats from the iconic brand of which Dolly was once the cherubic face.
Her parents asked attendees to wear blue in honour of her life and as a commitment to stamp out bullying.
They did. Not just in Katherine, but in every corner of Australia, people wore blue and posted photographs online with the hashtag #doitfordolly
Dusty Toyota LandCruisers and Nissan Patrols bringing mourners to the school from the region’s bush stations bore bumped stickers with the same message. A handful of people wore T- shirts with the slogan emblazoned.
The eulogy was read by Henry Burke, a longtime family friend and the boss of Dolly’s father Tick Everett.
Flanked by his wife Kate, and daughter Megan, Mr Everett recalled Mr Burke telling a sixyear- old Dolly to come inside for a bath. The cheeky reply was an order to the boss to bring her an icypole.
“That was Dolly to a tee. She knew what she wanted and she wasn’t afraid to go and get it,” Mr Everett said after the service.
The family paid tribute to Dolly as a “happy- go- lucky”, fun- loving girl who adored animals. “If she could poddy it or raise it, she would,” Mr Everett said of his daughter’s habit of adopting orphaned animals.
The nickname came from the day of f D Dolly’s ll ’ b birth. Mr Everett remembered arriving late to find his wife and new baby daughter together.
“I screamed in sideways and there she was. Kate looked down and said she was just like a perfect little china doll. Dolly just stuck,” he said.
Megan remembered her sister as someone who was “always there, always willing to help”.
If Tick Everett, Dolly’s father, could do anything, he would speak to every child in Australia about bullying and its repercussions in a single day. He yesterday made an emotional plea to the country which he hopes will create a national conversation about bullying.
“We’ve got to start talking about it,” he said. “We’ve got to educate the little kids, we’ve got to educate the teachers. Everybody is somebody’s daughter, somebody’s son.”
Dolly’s death sparked a social media firestorm this week after Mr Everett wrote on Facebook that his daughter had taken her life after being harassed online.
He took the remarkable step of inviting his daughter’s tormentors to her funeral, so they could “witness the complete devastation” they had caused.
Northern Territory Children’s Commissioner and former police officer Colleen Gwynne said Dolly’s bullies needed to be held criminally responsible for their actions.
NT Police confirmed they were investigating the 14- year- old’s suicide and allegations of bullying would be included in that investigation.