In the fading early autumn light, Ballarat’s mayor last week repeated a question that had plagued his community for five weeks.
“We ask, why did this happen to Samantha Murphy?” Des Hudson told the hundreds of people gathered to mourn her loss.
The vigil was partly a chance to help the community come to terms with the crisis over Murphy’s disappearance, which had weighed heavily on the town since 4 February.
But days after the regional Victorian community banded together – holding their mobile phone lights in silence – another tragedy struck Ballarat.
A rock collapse at the Ballarat goldmine left Kurt Hourigan, a 37-year-old miner, dead, while a 23-year-old was seriously injured.
The pair were among 30 workers inside the mine at Mount Clear, near the place police allege Murphy was killed and where the disaster unfolded at about 4.50pm on Wednesday.
Between the disappearance of Murphy on Sunday 4 February and the death of Hourigan, the region was devastated as bushfires raged and residents of nearby towns urged to evacuate.
Expressing her condolences about the mining disaster, the Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, acknowledged “the terrifying ordeal” for the other 28 miners who were also trapped for some time.
“Certainly, our thoughts should be with them as well,” she said.
“It’s been a really difficult time for the Ballarat community in recent weeks and months.”
A town struggling with grief
Ballarat was at the centre of Victoria’s gold rush in the mid 1800s and locals say it has retained that small-town feel, despite being the state’s third-largest city.
Margaret Moreton, a Ballarat resident and chief executive of the Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience, told the ABC on Friday that the community is going through a “very difficult and unusual time”.
“It does seem a bit like we can’t take a trick and continue to have these really difficult, tragic, events happen,” she said.
“[People] can feel this very keenly, this barrage, if you like, of things happening in their life.”
During the police investigation into Murphy, Hudson became the defacto spokesperson for his community, attempting to be a voice of empathy and reason for the town.
He says his role as mayor involves “being able to step up and be a consistent, hopefully measured voice when a crisis is unfolding”.
“It’s a small role to play, compared to those people that are actively involved in a tragic situation,” Hudson says.
“It pales in significance.”
As Murphy’s disappearance attracted rumours and conspiracy theories, Hudson urged the community to avoid speculation as to what had happened to her.
After Stephenson was charged, Hudson told the Ballarat community it was vital to respect the police investigation and court process.
And last Friday, after locals had filled the Eureka Stockade Memorial Garden in Ballarat to pay tribute to Murphy, he urged those still struggling with grief to speak up so the regional city could “wrap our arms around each other”.
It marked the end of a tumultuous five weeks, involving a high-profile police investigation and local volunteers combing through bushland in the hope of finding clues about Murphy’s disappearance.
Fatal mining death sparks tributes
But the town is dealing with another traumatic event.
The rock collapse at the Ballarat goldmine attracted immediate national media attention, as authorities sought to rescue the survivors and recover Hourigan’s body.
The site has been shut down while police and WorkSafe conduct investigations into the incident but questions have turned to the issue of miner safety.
The Australian Workers Union said the death “should have been avoided” and that concerns had been raised about the use of air-legging drilling at the mine for some time
Hourigan’s death has sparked tributes from colleagues, family and friends while the disaster has compounded Ballarat’s grief.
Hudson told Channel 7 on Thursday the mine tragedy was “devastating” for the Ballarat community, which was still grappling with the alleged murder of Murphy.
“It is devastating and will be devastating right across our community with just another tragic circumstance for our community,” he said.
“But we are a very resilient community. We are one that supports each other and we will do so again.”
Looking for answers
The small-town feel is compounding the grief surrounding the alleged murder of Murphy and the death of Hourigan, locals say.
Speaking at the Murphy vigil, Hudson stressed the need to be mindful that there were “two families involved” – the other being that of the man accused of her murder.
“We are looking for answers and it’s tough when we are grieving as a community, and I’m sure when we are a close-knit community of Ballarat, we know lots of people and [we have] that web of our connection,” he told the vigil.
As the police continue to search for Murphy’s body, the town’s residents are still looking for answers.
Hudson has called for patience as the official investigations unfold.
“The community wants answers now and sometimes where there are none, people come up with their own version which begins to circulate,” he says.
“But the process for the truth can often be more drawn out.”
