Act of kindness from total strangers for couple at center of Hunter Valley bus crash – as they escape on belated honeymoon after 10 guests die in wedding tragedy
The newlyweds whose wedding was disrupted by a bus crash that killed 10 guests have escaped for their honeymoon five months after the tragedy.
Mitchell Gaffney and Maddy Edsell were gifted a peaceful but spectacular holiday in the Whitsundays to help them heal from the unthinkable events of June 11.
The couple spent several weeks attending funerals and services for the friends and family who died in the horrific accident on the same day they tied the knot in the NSW Hunter Valley.
Another 21 people were injured in the crash.
Only four of the 35 people on the bus escaped serious injury.
The 35 passengers on the bus had just left the wedding of Mr Gaffney and Madeleine Edsell (both pictured) in the Hunter Valley. Tragically, 10 died when the bus rolled
The couple was gifted a stay at the Palm Bay Resort on Long Island in the Whitsundays
Mr Gaffney and Mrs Edsell were picked up at Proserpine Airport by a vintage car from Whitsunday Hot Rod Tours from Airlie Beach
The couple, who were not on the bus carrying guests after the reception, had ditched their honeymoon and lobbied the NSW state government to make seat belts mandatory on buses for months after the crash.
But thanks to the kindness of tourism operators in the Whitsundays, they were finally able to take a much-needed break.
Their outing was organized by Whitsundays woman Maz McDougall and her friend Tina Kerr, who now lives in the couple’s hometown of Singleton.
They wanted to do something special for the heartbroken couple, so they contacted Queensland tourism operators on the holiday islands, who gave them a free luxury holiday.
Ms Edsell said the months since the accident had been the most difficult of her and Mr Gaffey’s lives and the belated honeymoon was a chance to start over.
“It was just what we needed – a bit of a reset – so we could spend some time together,” Ms Edsell told Mackay and Whitsunday life.
Ms. McDougall had asked luxury hotels and resorts, a hot rod tour company, a ferry charter service, a makeup and hair salon and a seafood restaurant if they wanted to participate — and the companies jumped at the chance to help.
They were picked up at Proserpine Airport by a vintage car from Whitsunday Hot Rod Tours.
One of their experiences was a trip on the Camira, a fast 25-metre ocean catamaran around the Whitsundays.
“Not a dollar has gone over this, not a cent – and I want to thank everyone in the community,” Ms McDougall said, adding that she hoped the holiday could be a small reprieve from their grief and a way to start with healing.
The couple were given a peaceful but spectacular holiday in the Whitsundays to help them heal from the unthinkable events of June 11.
The grieving couple also went on a boat trip with Cruise Whitsundays
Mr Gaffney and his bride invited family and friends from Victoria to their weekend wedding at the Wandin Valley Estate.
The bus, carrying 35 friends and family of the happy couple, drove near Greta, 8 km from the estate.
A month after the tragedy, Mr Gaffney spoke bravely at the penultimate funeral of the victim, Zach Bray, 29.
Mr Bray, who beat cancer at the age of 25, was one of Mr Gaffney’s closest friends and died in the crash.
They played for the same AFL club, the Singleton Roosters, and became friends on and off the field.
Many of the people on board the bus were members of the Singleton Roosters.
“While you may never get the chance to put on the jersey again, you will always be by our side,” Mr. Gaffney said.
The crash was a terrible turn of events for the popular, sporty couple who switched states, moving from Victoria to NSW just six years ago.
Mitchell Gaffney remembered his partner Zachary Bray, 29, as a “loving larrikin” as he addressed mourners at Macquarie Park Cemetery and Crematorium in July
Back in Victoria, Mr Gaffney was a sporting phenomenon in Melbourne’s north-eastern suburb of Warrandyte.
He played Aussie Rules football – five years for the Warrandyte Bloods – and both junior and senior cricket for Warrandyte, excelling in both.
Maddy played netball and in 2015 was one of a handful of Warrandyte High School students to win a community grant to fund her first year at university.
The talented student – one of many popular sisters – started dating Mitchell around that time.
READ MORE: Bride and groom break silence after fatal bus crash
Mitchell Gaffney and Madeleine Edsell released a statement on Monday – a week after the crash at the end of their wedding day.
Ten people killed when a bus carrying 35 guests from Mr Gaffney and Madeleine Edsell’s wedding crashed near Greta (crash scene pictured)