Due to overwhelming response, the funeral of Dixie and Rachel Erlandsen has been moved to Macksville High School Stadium, entry via Park St, Macksville at 10am, Saturday, November 28.
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This will be followed by interment at Macksville Cemetery and then a Wake at Macksville Uniting Church, Wallace St , Macksville.
This will be followed by Interment in the Macksville Cemetery.
DOUBLE FATALITY - Shire mourns for loss of Dixie and Rachel
Tears and tributes for adored shire members Dixie and her daughter Rachel Erlandson have flooded the Bellinger Valley.
The tragedy unfolded on Friday afternoon when emergency services were called to the Pacific Highway near Valla Beach Rd after reports of a collision between an ambulance and a small car.
The driver of the Nissan Pulsar, 17-year-old Rachel, and her front passenger, 50-year-old Dixie from Valla, died at the scene.
Travelling in the ambulance were two ambulance paramedics, a doctor and a nurse who were all taken to hospital for treatment with non-life threatening injuries. They have since been discharged.
Dixie was the president of the Urunga Football Club. She was instrumental in establishing the Junior Six-A-Side competition and her commitment to the local sporting community was widely acknowledged, appreciated and “will be very sorrowfully missed”.
In addition, Dixie dedicated many years as a member of the Urunga Public School P&C committee, where she was described as a much-loved friend.
“Dixie worked tirelessly for our community. Whether it be in the capacity as accountant, or taking up positions as treasurer or auditor for so many community groups and organisations,” a community member said.
“She was always at school, helping out at the canteen or at soccer or Little Athletics. She cooked a great sausage sizzle!
“She was always smiling and always generous. She was a loyal friend and protective mum. She was so proud of her children. She was very respected and loved in our community.”
Year 12 student Rachel, attended UPS before heading off to Bishop Druitt College (BDC) where she had just completed her HSC.
Friends described Rachel as “an intelligent young woman with a generous heart” and as having “the world at her feet, to do with, what she dreamed”.
“Rachel was just starting her life … She'd just finished her HSC,” a close friend said.
“She was beautiful, inside and out. Excelled academically and in sport.
“Always helped out like her mum. A beautiful heart. A supportive sister and daughter.”
At a special assembly held on Monday at BDC, teachers and students remembered, prayed and grieved for their loss. In particular, Rachel’s school tutor offered a poignant and profound tribute.
“Rachel was a much loved and admired young lady. Although young in her year, she possessed a strength of character and resolve usually seen in older students,” the tutor said.
"She set her goals high and almost always achieved them. A favourite memory was when she was annoyed when she found out Julia Gillard had become Prime Minister.
“When questioned why, her answer was ‘because I was going to become the first woman Prime Minister. It was my goal since year five’. She was well on track to fulfil her vocational goal of being a physiotherapist or occupational therapist.
“Academically, Rachel was always a front runner and pushed herself to do her best. Her goal was always to be in the top five of all her subjects and she mostly achieved this.
“She had an inner beauty that presented itself in her caring and thoughtful nature. With her mother Dixie, she was known for a large amount of community involvement. Each year Rachel raised thousands of dollars for Relay for Life and many other causes.
“Rachel, as a member of her local surf club, was always on the beach completing her patrols or enthusiastically teaching children as a Nipper’s age manager. She was an extremely competent and adept swimmer, being a member of her swim club since she was little, as well as a competent soccer player, who with her team, often found themselves in the semi-finals.
“She was the organiser in her year and certainly of our tutor group, positively encouraging others.