Family, friends mourn a life given saving another …

By Bridget Brady
A FORMER Dandenong man who was washed off the rocks at Batemans Bay while trying to save another man has been labelled a hero.
Paul Quinlivan, 50, who went through his schooling in Dandenong with his six siblings, disappeared while trying to rescue a man who was swept off rocks at Batemans Bay on 10 October.
The man was found safe and well, but Mr Quinlivan’s body has not been recovered. Police called off the search the night of 12 October.
Mr Quinlivan had taken his daughter Hanna away for a few days to clear her head and take some time out because she was still struggling to come to terms with the loss of her mother to cancer a few months ago.
His Pearcedale parents, Bernie and Dorothy, said their son died doing what he loved – helping people.
“We’re very proud of him,” Bernie said. “Our reaction was that he was going to get out of the water.
“ But of course the longer it went on, the more desperate it got.
“He was in the water and kept saying (to Hanna) ‘I’m all right, I’m all right’.
“She leant down to pick up a camera she had put down and when she turned around again there was no sign of him.”
Dorothy said the family’s pain lingered on because they were unable to issue a death notice as their son’s body had not been found, and therefore could not proceed with any funeral plans.
“We’re still at a loss. The locals don’t know the story. We’d just like them to know,” Bernie said.
He said his son had a passion for helping the needy, poor and underprivileged.
Mr Quinlivan was instrumental in helping Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory, including establishing housing and a remote medical clinic.
He was honoured with a minute’s silence in Northern Territory parliament and the government will help his daughters Sarita, 28 and Hanna, 25, with a memorial service to their father in Alice Springs as a sign of appreciation for his work. He always fought for the underdog.”
New South Wales Police will nominate him for a posthumous bravery award, Bernie said.
It is the second son of their seven children that Bernie and Dorothy have lost under tragic circumstances. One of their sons died in a car accident at Foster in 1983.
There was more heartbreak for the pair when their grandson died 18 months ago with leukaemia.“But you accept what happens. Life has to go on.”
Bernie said his son could “talk to anyone, anytime, about anything. If he was angry, he never showed it.”