Talah's memory to live on with new plaque to be installed

When Kylie Jackson lost her daughter Talah in 2021, she chose to scatter her ashes at one of Talah’s favourite places – the beach.

They chose the calm and tranquil waters at Margate, with some of Talah’s ashes sprinkled in the water and the rest placed under a tree by the beachfront at Scotts Point.

“This was her home. Talah was born in Redcliffe and she loved the beach,” Kylie told Moreton Daily.

But all those painful memories of losing and having to say goodbye to her 21-year-old daughter came flooding back last week when Kylie was alerted to a post on Facebook where someone had posted a picture of Talah’s memorial cross and a notice from Moreton Bay Regional Council into a community page.

The original post, on February 21, said: “if anyone knows the family that has erected this memorial on the beachfront at Scotts Point please get in contact with them as the Moreton Bay Regional Council is going to remove it in 14 days. It’s been there for ages and not harming anything or anyone”.

The post both angered and saddened Kylie.

“My friend told me about the post and I was just so angry and upset, wondering why they would remove it,” Kylie said.

The post had more than 331 reactions, 236 comments and 71 shares.

In a bid to keep her daughter’s memorial where it is, Kylie travelled more than 450km back to the peninsula from Monto in the North Burnett region where she now lives, for a face-to-face meeting with council.

She met with a council officer and Councillor Karl Winchester (Div 6) at Talah’s memorial on Friday, February 24, where it was agreed the cross would be removed and a smaller plaque placed on a nearby bench instead.

“Council are going to fund the plaque and permanently fix it to the chair and clean up the area so it looks nice,” Kylie said.

“The cross will stay there for a few weeks and then my mum, who lives in Clontarf, will keep it.

“I will work on the words for the plaque and then send it over to council.

“This is where Talah will be forever.

“All of her friends live close by and come down here to the memorial to spend time with her.

“Her family still live here and can come down and be with her any time they like.”

Kylie hopes to invite the wider community and Talah’s friends to the site in a few weeks when the new plaque is unveiled.

Kylie said Talah was a straight-A student, having attended Tullawong Primary School and Tullawong State High School in Caboolture.

In her final year of school in 2016, Talah was named Indigenous Student of the Year, with her name placed on the honour board at the school.

“Compassionate outcome which balances community needs”

A Moreton Bay Regional Council spokesperson said: “I can confirm Council will be installing a brass plaque on a bench beside the memorial in commemoration of Talah’s life. The wording will be provided by her mother Kylie. If possible, the plaque will also have a QR code linked to Talah’s favourite song via Spotify”.

Cr Winchester said he was pleased a good outcome had been reached which meant Talah’s family and the community could continue remembering her in her favourite spot.

“When I saw the post on Facebook, I immediately reached out to Kylie understanding that the attention and opinions flying around on Facebook would be very concerning for her,” Cr Winchester said.

“I met onsite with Kylie and council staff to find a compassionate outcome which balances community needs.

“My heart goes out to Kylie, and her daughter Talah - we are very keen to support a more sustainable memorial, allowing the special relationship between mother and daughter to live on at this site.

“We've agreed on a positive way forward, a memorial bench featuring a plaque in Talah’s memory at the same site overlooking Moreton Bay.”

For more information about public memorials, visit Council's website.