Death of Australians in Yogyakarta
With profound sadness, Australia's Ambassador to Indonesia, Mr Bill Farmer,
announced that we have today received formal confirmation of the death of five
Australians who were on board Garuda Flight 200, which crashed in Yogyakarta on
7 March. The five Australians are Morgan Mellish, Elizabeth O'Neill OAM, Mark
Scott, Brice Steele and Allison Sudradjat.
Their next of kin have been advised of the news by Australian government
officials. On behalf of the Embassy community, I wish to convey our deepest
condolences to all of the families.
We are now discussing with the families their wishes regarding arrangements for
the return of their loved ones to Australia. Recognising that all individuals
involved were in their various roles serving the Australian people, the
Government has offered to arrange for their return and any other assistance
needed. At this time we also remember the many Indonesians who lost their lives
in this tragic accident, and convey our heartfelt sympathies to their families.
The Australian government wishes to thank the Indonesian authorities for their
cooperation and assistance in these difficult circumstances.
Head of AusAID Indonesia Confirmed Dead
It is with great sadness that I advise that the Australian Federal Police have
confirmed Allison Sudradjat, AusAID's Minister Counsellor in Indonesia, as one
of the Australians who died on Garuda Flight 200 in Yogyakarta on Wednesday, 7
March, 2007.
Allison will be returned to Canberra for burial. I will accompany her family
from Jakarta.
Allison was one of our most capable and dedicated officers. During her 18 years
with AusAID, her intellectual and practical approach to the challenges of
development was truly extraordinary. Allison led Australia's humanitarian
response to some of the region's worst disasters in recent years. She was also
a bold, passionate advocate for attacking poverty at its roots, working for
better schools, better health and better government.
Allison had an extraordinary impact on her colleagues both in Canberra and at
the two Australian missions in Indonesia and PNG where she had spent a total of
10 years working to improve the lives of people in those two countries. She was
an inspirational leader and people looked to her with great respect, admiration
and fondness. We will miss her enormously.
Our loss, however, pales when compared to her family's.
In her family's own words, Allison is dearly loved and missed by her husband,
Ris, her children, Jamila, Imran, Zaini and Yasmin, her parents, brother,
sister and extended family. Her family has suffered an unbearable loss. Allison
was a wonderful daughter, a wonderful sister, a wonderful wife, a wonderful
mother. Her family is proud that she spent her life and ultimately gave her
life in service to humanity.
Kang GURU
Radio English NOTE:
Since the terrible accident, KGRE has received many phone calls, SMSs and
emails, particularly in relation to Allison Sudradjat. Allison was featured in
the December 2006 edition of the KGRE magazine
(AusAID pages) and is also quoted in the latest March 2007 magazine. One
of Allison's great interests was the building of the 2000 SMP schools across
Indonesia by AusAID and the Indonesian Government. Allison was a great
supporter of KGRE and was always available for assistance and advice. Allison
was straight forward and most helpful on all occasions that KGRE worked with
her. KGRE always appreciated Allison's hard work and we thank her for her
tremendous interest in the ongoing development of Indonesia especially in the
area of education.
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‘I heard a very bad news on television last night that Mrs. Allison
Sudradjat and several staff of Australian Embassy passed away in Garuda
tragedy. I know her as the Head of AusAID for Indonesia, and AusAID scholarship
is the one I really want to get so actually I ever dreamt to speak with/meet
her. That's way I felt something missing hearing the news. My wife did too. She
is also your loyal reader. She even asked me first to send you an e-mail as
soon as possible telling that we are sorry to hear that and give our sympathy
to all AusAID staff.’
Ismail Budiyono from SMK BAKTI Purwokerto
‘Last night I saw on Metro TV that one of the victims of the Garuda
accident was Allison Sudradjat from AusAID featured in the December 2006 KGRE
magazine. Please accept our sympathy and grief over the tragedy.’
Mulyati at SMP Sandhy Putra in Bandung
‘Please accept my sincere condolences for losing 5 Australian
citizens in the recent Garuda accident. I'm very sorry especially for Mrs
Allison Sudradjat — I read about her in your magazine. It is hard to lose
a great woman that way especially for what she had done for Indonesia.’
Martha Widy from Sorong, Papua
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One of the other five Australians on that Garuda aircraft was Elizabeth O'Neill
OAM. Liz was Counsellor (Public Affairs) and worked in the Public Affairs
department of the Australian Embassy in Jakarta. It was always a good idea to
drop in on Liz at the embassy because there was always a positive atmosphere
there. Liz was also a great supporter of KGRE and was very helpful on many
occasions including preparing Kevin for his appearance on Metro TV in 2006. Liz
also attended the 2005 Opening of
the KGRE office in Bali and is pictured left with her fellow workmates, Brent
and Peter.
On behalf of
Kang GURU
Radio English readers and listeners, we would also like to pay our respects to
Morgan Mellish, Mark Scott and Brice Steele who were also on the Garuda flight
with Liz and Allison.
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