Father, Three Children Found Dead In Car

The Age

Saturday June 28, 2008

Les Kennedy

THOSE who established the Two Creeks hippy commune in the 1970s in the Pericoe Valley thought they had found their private "eden"; a paradise far from the troubles of the world.

But long-time locals say the commune - established one hour's drive west from the far southern NSW coastal fishing town of Eden in the flower power love culture of the hippy era - has more recently resembled a valley of broken dreams.

At 11am yesterday the tranquillity of this hidden valley in the mountain wilderness was shattered with the discovery of the bodies of a 44-year-old man and his three children dead inside the family car in the driveway of one of the homes at Two Creeks. Police believe the deaths of the man - the father of the children - and a girl aged five, and two boys aged seven and 18 months, resulted from the man's inability to cope with the breakdown of his marriage of 18 years.

The children's mother was last night receiving counselling in the nearby town of Bega, where she had moved. The family, which was known to the NSW Department of Community Services, had moved to the Pericoe Valley three years ago.

The Department of Community Services said in a statement that it had been informed in recent days that an apprehended violence order had been taken out against the man.

"DoCS staff subsequently made a number of attempts to contact the family to provide support but was unable to reach them," the statement said.

Police believe the children were possibly drugged then placed in the car and gassed by its exhaust fumes. They are believed to have lain dead inside the vehicle for at least two days before their bodies were discovered and the alarm raised by local children.

Pericoe Valley resident, Dianne Auld said it was her niece's husband and their three children who were found dead.

"She's (the children's mother) been away but they are still together as far as I know," Mrs Auld said. "I spoke to her for a little while today. She's devastated. Nothing brings them back. It is just a terrible tragedy."

Rick O'Hara, another Pericoe Valley resident, who directed ambulance officers, said Two Creeks, where the bodies were found, is an old hippy commune. "It was about 15 houses, but it's dead now, the commune is dead. Itinerants live there now," said Mr O'Hara, who has lived in the area for 30 years.

"It's wilderness. It's rocks and big trees and very little dirt and very little water. There are three dirt tracks leading to it. Some people call it a valley of failure."

Pericoe was the name given to a cattle station by a family that settled the area. "About 30 years ago, 15 partners came to the valley and established the commune on 1000 acres to go along with the flower era culture," Mr O'Hara said. "The hippies didn't last and other people have come and gone over the years. A lot of the buildings at Two Creeks are derelict, you wouldn't know if there were people squatting or renting, it's a pretty fluid situation."

A police spokesman said autopsies would show how the father and children died.

For help or information, visit beyondblue.org.au, call Suicide Helpline Victoria on 1300 651 251 or Lifeline on 131 114.