‘My precious baby’: Family’s video tributes
The family of an Australian girl who died after falling into a Fiordland creek have shared video tributes to their “light and joy.”
Tegan Ariel Chen, 10, and her family were on holiday in the South Island when she slipped into Marion Creek and was swept away by rapid waters on January 25.
In her memory, the family have set up a YouTube channel, which features video montages of the young girl as well as a recording of her funeral service.
In footage of the funeral service, her older brother, Zac, was the first of her immediate family to pay tribute to Chen.
“She took the phrase ‘stop and smell the roses’, and proceeded to smell every flower, watch every sunset, and listen to every single bird’s whistle,” he said.
“To me, the one thing that hurts the most is that she won’t be with us – she’ll be above us, watching.
“We won’t get to live our life with her, but she will be there, laughing when we laugh, comforting when we cry, and welcoming when we make it to the destination.”
Her mother, Deb Fung, thanked guests for “bringing closure on a life that was so young, precious, and full.”
“She knows as well as we do that this is a journey – a hard one – and today is probably, hopefully, the hardest part,” she said.
She thanked family who had flown to New Zealand hours following Chen’s death to provide support, and to God, for “binding our wounds supernaturally, and showing us glimpses of Heaven, so that as strongly as we felt despair, we’ve also experienced hope.”
Her speech touched on memories of her daughter’s birth, Chen’s love of horse riding, “relishing” their lockdown time together, her “special friendships”, and her readiness to “take the world on” as a young girl.
Sergeant Tod Hollebon of Te Anau police said Chen had been standing on a rock near a viewing platform when she slipped.
After falling into the water, Chen had travelled a “considerable distance through some very turbulent water”, Hollebon said.