Public raises thousands for family after farm tragedy

Thursday, 4 October 2018

 A fundraising page for a man whose pregnant wife and 3-year-old son were killed in a freak farm accident has raised $45,000.

Nadine Tomlinson, 33, and her 3-year-old son, Angus, died when she lost control of the tractor and trailer unit and crashed into a private dam at the family's farm in Waihemo, near Dunback in North Otago on Sunday.

A Givealittle page was created for Tomlinson's husband, Scott, and 18-month-old son Sam by friends of the couple on Wednesday. By Thursday morning the page had raised $45,000.

'The grief and sorrow of the loss of two children and your wife in a moment is incomprehensible for most of us,' the page says.

READ MORE: Man describes harrowing moment he realised his wife and son had been killed

'As friends of Scott and Nadine, we wish we could do more to ease Scott's pain. One thing we want to do is take away some of the financial burden and stress and help with funeral and wake expenses, hiring staff if they need (it is very busy on the farm and Nadine did lots of work), childcare, or whatever else Scott and Sam need to help them get through this tragedy.'

Scott Tomlinson earlier said he went looking for his wife and son when they failed to return from doing some work around the farm on the tractor.

'I couldn't see the tractor, I could just see skid marks going into the dam and I knew where she was.'

He described his wife as a hard-working, driven woman who 'meant the world to her boys'.

The couple, who both grew up on farms, were married for four-and-a-half years and worked together on the 400-hectare property.

'We were working hard to create the life we both wanted,' Tomlinson said.

'She was a very passionate farmer, she loved her farming, she went doing something she loved.'

His son was 'full of life'.

'He was a typical 3-year-old boy, just enjoyed time with mum and loved being on the tractor.'

The pair's deaths were a 'freak accident', he said.