Gone too soon
A BOMADERRY couple whose son was killed in a motorcycle accident at South Nowra last Wednesday say he was a fun-loving larrikin, who loved his family and mates, music and cars.
The Duke family, parents Graham and Tracy and younger sister Hayley, will today lay their only son and brother Ben to rest in a ceremony at the Shoalhaven Memorial Gardens Chapel at Worrigee at 2pm.
Police said the 23-year-old died after the motorcycle he was riding left the road and struck a tree in Quinns Lane, with Mr Duke suffering head injuries and dying at the scene.
Dukesy, as he was known to his many mates, was as comfortable sitting on the floor with a 12-month-old baby playing as he was chatting to his mates about cars or helping a 90-year-old neighbour by mowing the lawn.
He had an extremely close bond with his father, with whom he shared the same birth date, July 17.
When Ben celebrated his 21st his father turned 50.
“It’s really hard to put Ben into words – where do you start,” said his father Graham.
“He’s been taken too young, too early. He had too many things to be done.
“Ben certainly fitted so much into 23 and a half years – he always had something going on.”
The former Illaroo Road Public School and Bomaderry High student was just six months away from completing an apprenticeship to become a qualified panel beater at D & Y Superfinish.
At school he had mates across the student population.
“It wasn’t just the sporty guys, or the highly educated, or the dorks, he had mates all over,” Mr Duke said.
“He just had so many mates and it just continued in an ever expanding circle of friends.
“There are 35,000 people in this city and I reckon he would know 10,000 of them and they would know him.
“And it wasn’t just his mates, it was their parents, their families.”
And that dedication to his mates was reciprocated on Thursday following his death when a group of 50 cars made a stirring road trip to Kiama in appreciation of him.
His fascination with cars started as a three-year-old when he could tell you how many laps the famous Bathurst 1000 was.
That fascination led to him “tinkering” with virtually anything mechanical.
“He loved to modify things, be it putting motors on pushbikes, through to cars – he loved anything mechanical,” Mr Duke said.
He also had a love of music with his collection of songs on his computer passing the 5000 mark – everything from string quartets through to heavy metal and even country and western.
Australian football was also a passion, he played for the Bomaderry Tigers in both juniors and seniors. The club held a moving tribute including a minute’s silence ahead of last weekend’s opening round clash at Artie Smith Oval, which around 80 of his “outside footy mates” also attended.
Close friend Ben Dickerson said Ben Duke was always there for his mates.
“Dukesy would do anything for his mates,” he said.
“He could be outrageous at times but he would do anything for you and we were the same for him.
“I moved to Perth for work and he would always just ring up to see how I was going – he was that kind of guy.
“My parents loved him, he was just part of the family.
“He might have been a larrikin but he gave people respect and that obviously came from his parents.
“There was mutual respect, he was a larrikin but you couldn’t help but love him.”
Mr Duke said the family had been overwhelmed with the outpouring of support they received.
“It is amazing how many people he touched.
“We have had an open door at home since the accident and it has been nothing for us to have 15 or 20 guys at our house each night just talking about him and then there is a different 15-20 the following night.
“I know they are hurting severely as are we.”
As a tribute his mates intend to finish the BA Falcon Ben was restoring so his parents can take it to next year’s SummerNats, which was one of Ben’s dreams.
“We just can’t thank everyone for their help and support,” he said.
Ben’s father Graham said his son was just the kind of kid that had heaps of mates.
“And it didn’t matter who you were or what you were,” Graham said.
“Above all else he was always there for his mates, if they needed anything, he was there.”
A FRIEND TO ALL: Bomaderry man Ben Duke (23) who was killed in a motorcycle accident on Quinns Lane last Wednesday, will be laid to rest today.