{"id":837669,"date":"2026-08-01T11:39:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T11:39:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/837669\/"},"modified":"2026-08-01T11:39:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T11:39:10","slug":"skuthorpe-family-home-razed-on-day-of-rex-skuthorpes-funeral","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/837669\/","title":{"rendered":"Skuthorpe family home razed on day of Rex Skuthorpe\u2019s funeral"},"content":{"rendered":"

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.<\/p>\n

It was the absolute heart of the Skuthorpe family.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

However, an unimaginable series of tragedies struck the family in quick succession \u2014 culminating on the very day they laid Rex to rest.<\/p>\n

\"Person<\/p>\n

Month of Heartbreak<\/p>\n

The dark run of misfortune for Rex\u2019s daughter, Toni Skuthorpe, began around Easter. <\/p>\n

It started when the father of Toni Skuthorpe\u2019s middle daughters suffered a sudden medical emergency in Lithgow. <\/p>\n

He was flown to Sydney on life support and tragically passed away shortly after.<\/p>\n

Still processing that loss, the family suffered another devastating blow just weeks later. <\/p>\n

On May 28, Rex suffered a severe heart attack and passed away in the early hours of May 29.<\/p>\n

\u201cI dropped them off \u2026 Dad was fine. I gave him a kiss and cuddle, told him that I loved him,\u201d Toni recalled to news.com.au. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat night \u2026 the doctor came back out and said, \u2018He\u2019s gone.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was the worst ten minutes of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

An unthinkable tragedy<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

At around 10:10 PM that evening, family members drove back out to the Willowring homestead \u2014 only to be met with horror.<\/p>\n

The entire family home had burned completely to the ground. <\/p>\n

Nothing remained but smouldering ashes.<\/p>\n

To make the nightmare worse, the family soon realised that family pets \u2014 including Dixie\u2019s dog Lily, grandson Ashton\u2019s dog Dragon, and an orphaned baby goat Rex had been hand-raising \u2014 were trapped inside and perished in the blaze.<\/p>\n

Investigators later confirmed the fire wasn\u2019t an accident, as nothing was left on, and there was no electrical fault at play.<\/p>\n

The cause of the fire is still being investigated by police.<\/p>\n

Left with nothing but memories<\/p>\n

Dixie lost not only her husband of decades, but every single item tying her to their lifetime together. <\/p>\n

Living with her at the time was her youngest daughter Shannon, partner Justin, and their five children. <\/p>\n

They lost all of their basic necessities \u2014 clothing, furniture, school supplies \u2014 alongside irreplaceable family heirlooms and photographs.<\/p>\n

\u201cMum and my sisters got nothing. They\u2019ve got nothing. Everything was burnt,\u201d Toni shared. <\/p>\n

\u201cShe [Dixie] did tell me that she was very heartbroken, but she\u2019s trying to be strong for us girls and for the grandkids. <\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s a very strong woman.\u201d<\/p>\n

The destruction extended beyond the main walls. <\/p>\n

A cubby house built years prior by Rex and Dixie for their eldest grandchild, Latoya, was also completely destroyed.<\/p>\n

Community kindness prevails<\/p>\n

In the wake of the fire, the nearby Lightning Ridge community rallied immediately, supplying emergency accommodation, clothes, and everyday essentials. <\/p>\n

Local relatives organised community fundraisers to keep the family afloat.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will be forever grateful for the Lightning Ridge community, forever, forever grateful,\u201d Toni said.<\/p>\n

However, the journey to rebuild is a steep uphill climb. <\/p>\n

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. <\/p>\n

Compounding the issue is the farm\u2019s remote location between Goodooga and Lightning Ridge, where freighting materials and securing tradespeople incurs double the standard cost.<\/p>\n

Toni revealed the cost to remove the asbestos will be upwards of $10,000.<\/p>\n

Rebuilding a home<\/p>\n

Family friend Amelia Maxwell, whose family has been intertwined with the Skuthorpes for nearly 70 years, has set up a GoFundMe<\/a> campaign to help cover the immediate asbestos removal and initial construction costs to rebuild the family home.<\/p>\n

For the grandchildren, rebuilding Willowring is about honouring the man who built it. <\/p>\n

Toni\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will never be the same, which is very sad,\u201d Toni said. <\/p>\n

\u201cDad was so proud of all the grandkids \u2026 Ashton still wants to go out there and finish the fence for Pop. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat sort of stuff would make him so proud.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u2019s memory lives on.<\/p>\n

Read related topics:Sydney<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For three decades, a rural property in New South Wales tucked between Goodooga and Lightning Ridge in 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