The family of Sydney teenager Charlotte O’Brien says it has been left “devastated” after a memorial dedicated to the Santa Sabina student was taken down by the school.
The memorial was made by Charlotte’s Aunty Melinda Rodger and her children on Sunday night.
“It was something we wanted to do for Charlotte because we didn’t get the opportunity to say goodbye,” Rodger said.
“It was our special way of giving her something to say you mattered and we miss you.”
“When we drove past the next morning there were so many flowers, [my kids] said to me ‘Mum it looks spectacular, Charlotte would love this’.”
But come Monday afternoon, any evidence of the memorial had vanished.
“We were absolutely devastated to find out late Monday afternoon that it had all been removed … words cannot express how devastated we were.
“We came here to have a look for ourselves … and we found Charlotte’s grandfather wandering aimlessly up and down the street with a bunch of flowers trying to find the memorial site to lay his flowers.”
Rodger told Charlotte’s grandfather to leave the flowers at the site of the original memorial, but they too disappeared the next day.
The school confirmed it did take down the memorial, as it was concerned about the “impact” it would have on student’s mental health.
“On the advice of mental health experts… we removed the memorial because of concerns that were raised about the impact this could have on young people,” principal Paulina Skerman told 9News in a statement.
“The College is working with Charlotte’s family to find a permanent and loving way to remember Charlotte.
“We guarantee she will not be forgotten.”
Rodger was able to collect some of the items that were taken from the memorial today, picking them up at the Santa Sabina campus.
She said she “couldn’t understand” how their memorial for Charlotte would have a negative impact on students.
Charlotte’s father Mat told 9News that he was “running out of words” to describe how he felt about the way the school had handled his daughter’s death.
“My niece and nephew wanted to honour her … we’re not following a playbook on how to grief, so I’m not going to tell her cousins how they should grieve the loss of their cousin
“From the school’s perspective, If I was given advice to remove those things, I wouldn’t have touched them.”
He also said his family was “holding on at best.”
Charlotte’s family said the school had told them it was planning a permanent memorial for her.
“If they do that, it’s a positive step,” Rodger said.
