January 28 marked one year since the tragic death of Narrabri man Daniel McNamara who was killed when a stolen ute driven by a teenage boy, and containing two teenage male passengers, struck him at high speed in the early morning.
After the tragedy, the North West community rallied around the McNamara family.
Daniel, who went by Dan, was on his way to Tamworth to service his motorbike and was leaving the Gunnedah Shell Service Station when he was killed.
One year on from the tragedy, his brothers and father wanted to honour Dan by completing the ride he was meant to do on that day.
Starting at 6am, Daniel’s father, Patrick led the group of riders from Narrabri arriving at Gunnedah a little before 7:25.
Gathering at the plaque and memorial for Dan, Patrick was joined by his sons Adam and David. Patrick delivered a speech where he talked about how much the ride meant to him and thanked the community and those who helped support the family during this difficult time in their lives.
“It was just important for us to complete Dan’s journey exactly one year on,” Adam McNamara said.
“It doesn’t get any easier, we love and miss him so much.”
After his speech, Patrick shared a song which was written in honour of Dan’s memory called “Doing It For Dan” written and sung by Queensland artist, Keri McInerney.
The convoy soon then continued the ride to Tamworth, arriving around 9am.
The tragedy of Dan’s death spurred his brother Adam and his father to advocate for changes around bail laws.
It’s a project which they are both still fighting.
“It never gets easier and we’ve got a big fight on our hands still to make sure the laws that come in regarding youth crime are implemented properly, we definitely need support and a community to help us get that done,” Adam said.
“What we’re going through is heartbreaking and to have the community around us, it really gets us through, we’d be lost without them. It was amazing to have so many people show up and I think it went really well. I’m so proud of Dad.”
- MOLLY SHANNON
