Truly inspirational

By Casey Neill
FAMILY has described Hannah Kinross’ death in last week’s Kokoda air crash as ‘a loss for the whole world’.
The Belgrave South 22-year-old and former Mater Christi College student planned to tackle the Papua New Guinea trek with close friend Kelly Weire. But tragedy struck when their plane crashed into dense jungle last Tuesday (11 August), killing all on board.
Hannah’s mother Sue, father Colin and 21-year-old brother Adam said they were ‘so lucky’ to have shared their lives with a beautiful girl.
“We are devastated by our loss and our heart goes out to Kelly’s family and the others who have also lost so much,” they said.
They said Hannah had grown into a caring, compassionate and passionate young woman and this trip was ‘meant to be just one more of her many lifetime adventures’.
Hannah had volunteered in South Africa and was working with refugee communities as a health promotion worker at Dandenong’s Migrant Information Centre.
“She worked hard to right the wrongs that she saw and she planned to continue doing that for the rest of her life,” they said. “We will now never know what she would have been able to achieve and feel that her death has been a loss not only to us, but for the whole world.”
Mater Christi College principal Mary Fitz-Gerald said Hannah’s tragic death had deeply saddened the school community.
“Hannah is well remembered by teachers who speak of her six years at the college as a time when she blossomed into a mature young woman with genuine strength of character,” Ms Fitz-Gerald said.
Ms Fitz-Gerald said Hannah’s commitment to social justice was “outstanding” and she had spoken passionately about her work in Africa at a college assembly. “Her presentation was truly memorable and an inspiration to the whole college community,” Ms Fitz-Gerald said. “Her teachers listened and watched with great pride as she spoke to our students.”
The Dandenong MIC declined to comment on the tragedy, but in an online tribute, one colleague said Hannah’s workmates were in shock.
“The MIC will never be the same without you,” she wrote. “You have inspired and changed us for the better.”
Friends described Hannah as ‘kind hearted and selfless’, ‘a beautiful young lady with a heart of gold’, ‘truly inspirational’ and ‘a hero to many’. “You have touched and enriched so many lives and taken it all in your stride,” one said. “No request from anyone was ever too hard for you. You always put others before yourself.”