As images of the devastating Lismore floods covered the news one year ago, Crystal Bock heard the reports of a man that had been swept into a drain.
She had a terrible premonition.
"I remember thinking 'I hope that isn't Dad,'" she said.
"There was something so surreal about hearing that story and having that thought."
Only a few days later, the sisters were called to identify the body of their father.
The memorial to Stuart Lyell Bock in Lismore. Credit: Tanisha Williams/NITV
A family man who wanted to live close
Stuart Lyell Bock was one of the fatalities of that terrible deluge, sucked into a storm drain during the Northern Rivers floods of 2022.
A Lismore local, the non-Indigenous man was a loving father to three children.
He shared the trio with his first love and childhood sweetheart, Christine, a proud Wonnarua woman.
The pair met at 14 and had children young. They separated in their children's early schooling years but maintained a friendship which their children admired.
Stuart's daughters say their father stayed in Lismore to be close to them and his grandchildren, of whom he was equally proud.
His last sacrifice
In the aftermath of the chaos and destruction, the sisters were contacted by a neighbour who believed they had a video showing the last moments of Stuart's life.
He was last seen alive at a park in Uralba Street in Lismore. The spot is now home to a memorial for him, made by his family.
"We couldn't really make it out, but there were signs pointing to it being him," said Amanda.
"It wasn't until we found the body really. Until then I refused to believe it was him."
His daughters say he was on the way to fill sandbags at the local pub.
"He was going to help out at the pub, and thought he could make it through the water on the road. He didn't make it to the other side," said Amanda.
They say it's a testament to the man he was.
A treasured memento
A bit of a character, the sisters say their father was always wearing a hat, a wide-brimmed one that always had a feather stuck in one side, and a scarf wrapped around it.
When his body was found, his hat was missing. Stuart's family couldn't bear to lose it as well.
"Mum would drive past here and say 'Keep an eye out for your Dad's hat'.... One day she snuck off her own," said Crystal.
The family created a memorial to Stuart Lyell Bock at the spot along Uralba Street in Lismore - the last place he was seen alive.
"I couldn't believe it. She found it here in this spot. The water was strong enough to carry his body to the other side of town but his hat stayed here."
A day later, their brother found the final piece, coming across the scarf.
"It was kind of like this feeling of him being whole again, he was missing a limb or something without his hat," said Crystal.
Remembered as a lovable man
Now a year after his death, his family gathered beside their memorial to remember him.
"My Dad was always somebody who just wanted everybody to get together, and to be together and have fun," said Crystal.
"He was always defending people's rights, especially for us kids as Blackfullas."
"He had his downfalls, but he was just so lovable. I feel very luck to have had the time we had with him," added Amanda.
