Loving family man’s memory always cherished
ANNA Osborne’s love for husband Milton is permanently etched in her thoughts and on her skin.
A poignant tattoo on her left wrist features a fern, trees like those growing on the Paparoa Range where Pike River is located, a burning candle and the words: ‘‘Pike River 29 . . . ‘Milt’.’’
Anna also wears a necklace and a bracelet which both carry silver charms of the face of her 54-yearold husband, who died in the Pike River tragedy along with 28 of his workmates and friends.
Shortly after the initial explosion on November 19, 2010, Anna rushed to the mine and managed to gain entry to the worksite after being allowed through a rapidly arranged cordon outside.
She spent four days waiting and hoping her husband and the other 28 would safely emerge from the mine.
Returning to the site tomorrow would be ‘‘raw’’, she said.
‘‘It is going to be very emotional . . . it will be heartwrenching,’’ Anna said.
‘‘I don’t know if I am going to be able to get through it to be honest, knowing that I am so close to my husband but incapable of going in and getting him out. It is just so raw.’’
Anna said she would not be able to truly move on until all had been done to try to recover the remains of Milton and his 28 mates.
‘‘We will never go away until we have what rightfully belongs to us . . . and that is our men back,’’ Anna said.
‘‘We are fighting so we can rightfully bury . . . our men, the men that we loved, the men that we lost.
‘‘Until I can get my husband’s remains out, even something like his belt buckle, I can’t move on. Until everything is done to get our menout, to get entry into at least the drift, I won’t be satisfied . . . I will not stop my fight.’’
Milton’s memory is being proudly carried by his widow and their two children.
Alisha Osborne, 15, won the hearts of a nation with her emotional performance on New Zealand’s Got Talent, when she sang Sarah McLachlan’s hit, Angel, in her father’s memory.
Alisha said during the TV show: ‘‘I sung Angel because, really, that’s where they [the Pike River 29] should be, that’s where they are . . . dad’s always supported me throughout my music and I know today he’s going to be here and he’s going to be [cheering me on].’’
Talent show judge, supermodel Rachel Hunter, told her: ‘‘I’m absolutely heartbroken for you, and to have the courage to get up and do what you just did, your dad would be really proud of you.
‘‘That was just absolutely beautiful, and you’re amazing.’’
Son, Robin Osborne, 17, has signed up for the Ngahere Volunteer Fire Brigade along with his mother.
‘‘Robin is walking in his father’s footsteps as far as that is concerned . . . his father would be really proud of that,’’ Anna said.
Early last year, Anna won the by-election for Milton’s spot on the Grey District Council.
‘‘It was really important for my children that I tried to get their father’s seat,’’ she said.
‘‘They didn’t want anyone else taking their dad’s seat, they wanted me to take it.’’