THE terrible deaths of five members of one family at Lockhart in the Riverina have stunned the entire state.
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Newspapers and television stations yesterday carried smiling family photos of the Hunt family, who were all found dead on their farm this week in an apparent murder-suicide.
And while the facts of the case appear horrific, perhaps most frightening is the fact that no one seems to have seen this coming.
Local residents who have spoken to the media described an ordinary, hard-working family with close links to their community.
The children attended a local school, their mother worked for the local health service and the father worked the land that had been in his family for generations.
Which all goes to show that we can never really know what’s going on in someone else’s head.
Yesterday was RUOK? Day across Australia, and it could not have come at a more important time. The initiative encourages us all to simply reach out to those around us and ask: “Are you OK?”
It encourages us to recognise that things are not always as they seem and that people around us might be fighting a silent battle they desperately want to share, but don’t know where to start.
That simple question – “Are you OK?” – may be all it takes to start a potentially life-saving conversation.
The figures show that regional Australia is vastly over-represented in suicide statistics, so it is up to all of us to do what we can to change that sad reality.
We may never know the full story behind the five Lockhart deaths this week, and that may be no bad thing.
But the tragic image of those three smiling children, in particular, should drive us all to look out for those around us and have the courage to ask how they are doing. It might be the most important conversation we ever have.
Lifeline: 13 11 14