For three decades, a rural property in New South Wales tucked between Goodooga and Lightning Ridge in remote New South Wales, was much more than timber and tin.
It was the absolute heart of the Skuthorpe family.
It was where patriarch Rex Skuthorpe and his wife Dixie raised their children, welcomed 19 grandchildren, and created a warm, open-door haven where anyone, family or stranger, was given a place at the table.
However, an unimaginable series of tragedies struck the family in quick succession — culminating on the very day they laid Rex to rest.
Month of Heartbreak
The dark run of misfortune for Rex’s daughter, Toni Skuthorpe, began around Easter.
It started when the father of Toni Skuthorpe’s middle daughters suffered a sudden medical emergency in Lithgow.
He was flown to Sydney on life support and tragically passed away shortly after.
Still processing that loss, the family suffered another devastating blow just weeks later.
On May 28, Rex suffered a severe heart attack and passed away in the early hours of May 29.
“I dropped them off … Dad was fine. I gave him a kiss and cuddle, told him that I loved him,” Toni recalled to news.com.au.
“That night … the doctor came back out and said, ‘He’s gone.’”
“That was the worst ten minutes of my life.”
An unthinkable tragedy
On Saturday, June 20, the entire extended family gathered in Goodooga to farewell Rex, burying him in his hometown before travelling to nearby Lightning Ridge in New South Wales for a wake and dinner.
At around 10:10 PM that evening, family members drove back out to the Willowring homestead — only to be met with horror.
The entire family home had burned completely to the ground.
Nothing remained but smouldering ashes.
To make the nightmare worse, the family soon realised that family pets — including Dixie’s dog Lily, grandson Ashton’s dog Dragon, and an orphaned baby goat Rex had been hand-raising — were trapped inside and perished in the blaze.
Investigators later confirmed the fire wasn’t an accident, as nothing was left on, and there was no electrical fault at play.
The cause of the fire is still being investigated by police.
Left with nothing but memories
Dixie lost not only her husband of decades, but every single item tying her to their lifetime together.
Living with her at the time was her youngest daughter Shannon, partner Justin, and their five children.
They lost all of their basic necessities — clothing, furniture, school supplies — alongside irreplaceable family heirlooms and photographs.
“Mum and my sisters got nothing. They’ve got nothing. Everything was burnt,” Toni shared.
“She [Dixie] did tell me that she was very heartbroken, but she’s trying to be strong for us girls and for the grandkids.
“She’s a very strong woman.”
The destruction extended beyond the main walls.
A cubby house built years prior by Rex and Dixie for their eldest grandchild, Latoya, was also completely destroyed.
Community kindness prevails
In the wake of the fire, the nearby Lightning Ridge community rallied immediately, supplying emergency accommodation, clothes, and everyday essentials.
Local relatives organised community fundraisers to keep the family afloat.
“We will be forever grateful for the Lightning Ridge community, forever, forever grateful,” Toni said.
However, the journey to rebuild is a steep uphill climb.
Because the older homestead contained a significant amount of asbestos, the site requires expensive, specialised hazardous clean-up and demolition before any rebuilding can commence.
Compounding the issue is the farm’s remote location between Goodooga and Lightning Ridge, where freighting materials and securing tradespeople incurs double the standard cost.
Toni revealed the cost to remove the asbestos will be upwards of $10,000.
Rebuilding a home
Family friend Amelia Maxwell, whose family has been intertwined with the Skuthorpes for nearly 70 years, has set up a GoFundMe campaign to help cover the immediate asbestos removal and initial construction costs to rebuild the family home.
For the grandchildren, rebuilding Willowring is about honouring the man who built it.
Toni’s son, Ashton, still hopes to return to the property to finish building a boundary fence he was working on alongside his grandfather before he died.
“It will never be the same, which is very sad,” Toni said.
“Dad was so proud of all the grandkids … Ashton still wants to go out there and finish the fence for Pop.
“That sort of stuff would make him so proud.”
The Skuthorpe family is not asking for a mansion, but just a chance to clear the hazardous debris and put a roof back over the land where their family’s memory lives on.
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