(THEME MUSIC)
Hello.
We really shouldn't know the name Cassius Turvey.
We really shouldn't know the name He was just 15 when he died Cassius Turvey.
He was just 15 when he died
after an attack on his way home from school.
The community was enraged,
but his mother, Mechelle, chose to respond in a very different way.
This is very strange for me
because I don't get dressed up This is very strange for me
because I don't get dressed up for Halloween whatsoever.
Ta-da! I wish I had long hair.
But, um, today is one year
to the date where we had the vigil for Cassius,
and we decided to choose this date
'cause it was Cassius's favourite day, Halloween,
to have the unveiling of a special memorial.
to have the unveiling (DIDGERIDOO PLAYS)
Mechelle is a mother
who has a son that was coming home from school
who has a son and didn't make it.
If that doesn't... touch people's hearts,
I don't know... I don't know what would.
Momentum for change is rippling through the nation tonight, I don't know... I don't know what would.
Momentum for change is rippling through the nation tonight,
with emotional rallies held
to remember Perth teenager Cassius Turvey.
The 15-year-old Yamatji Noongar boy died last month
The 15-year-old Yamatji Noongar boy after allegedly being beaten.
This was a teenager in his after allegedly being beaten.
This was a teenager in his school uniform in broad daylight.
People think that we're getting better.
What kind of backwater are we living in?
There's been a massive show of anger and grief
as communities right across the country call for change.
This is Australia's George Floyd moment. as communities right across the country call for change.
This is Australia's George Floyd moment.
MAN: What do we want? CROWD: Justice!
When do we want it? Now!
WOMAN: It could've all went horribly wrong,
because there was the anger,
there was the hurt, there was the frustration.
They all wanted to start a war about all this.
They all wanted to start a war Mechelle just wanted peace.
Come together.
(SIGHS) See, I've got an issue with anger.
(SIGHS) See, I've got Because anger will just...
..it will manifest in your heart
to a point where you hate everyone and everything.
How you been? Yeah, I'm alright.
(CHUCKLES) Been talkin'...
But I don't think we have to fight with people so much.
But I don't think we have to fight 'Cause they just go, "Whoa!
"I don't want to hear it!"
And there's no point talking from that point
because the ears are closed, all the walls go up.
You know, it's so powerful for little ones to learn their culture.
You know, it's so powerful for Thank you.
WOMAN: I don't know how she does it.
Sometimes I think if I put myself in her shoes,
I think the grief would've just been too much.
But she's on a mission.
As Cass used to say, "Mum was on a mission."
"Mum was on a mission, so you can't stop her."
Awww! That's beautiful.
When I'm passionate about something,
I'm like a little fox terrier - I won't let go of it.
This is probably her biggest mission, is her legacy for her baby.
That drives her. It drives her every day.
15.
My grandmother used to make me walk out in storms -
thunder and lightning -
from when I was a young girl up till I was about 15 or so.
Storms where I thought I was gonna die.
And I always asked, "Nan, what are you doing this to me for?"
She said, "I'll tell you when it's good and ready."
It was only years after, she says,
"I walked you all those years through that rough weather
"because I wanted to make you stronger
"because I wanted "and let you know you're gonna have
"some even stronger storms ahead of you."
Look, she could have just told me that.
I wish she would have. (LAUGHS)
Hey! What do you reckon?
Um...did you not...iron it?
No, but the dryer's got this ironing function.
Does it work?
Our grandmother and mother have been through a lot,
which have made them very strong, very strong women. Our grandmother and mother have been through a lot,
which have made them very strong, very strong women.
That's been handed down to my sister.
Both of my grandparents were taken away from their parents,
put on missions, and...and later, um,
they went to a reserve to live together.
She was ironing when she was young, but then the iron got too hot,
so she turned it off and kept ironing.
I've always been clean and tidy and things like that,
and that came from my mother,
because her mother had to be clean all the time
just to keep authorities away from coming and stealing my mother.
I met my husband at Allawah Grove.
It's an old settlement for Aboriginal people.
He's a white man.
He's not Aboriginal or anything. He's a white man.
He's not Aboriginal or anything. He's white.
His father said to him, "Don't marry her.
"She won't look after your kids and she'll just be a drunk."
Mum was always worried about bad stories getting out
that she couldn't look after her children,
or that she was different in any way
to a white mother bringing up children.
I don't ever remember being told that we were Aboriginal, you know?
And there was no culture.
I've always felt that I've grown up in two worlds,
having a black mother and a white father.
having a black mother And...because my skin isn't as dark
as other Aboriginal people...
..um, that created a bit of as other Aboriginal people...
..um, that created a bit of a identity crisis for me as well.
I kind of felt like I was sitting on a big, big fence.
You are, you're still Mum's big baby.
You are, Big baby. How much did I weigh?
Nine... Big baby. How much did I weigh?
Nine... 9lb 5oz, I think it was.
Ah. Ahh!
AH! Yeah.
Mechelle clashed with Dad, because Dad had a lot of rules.
And when she was a teenager, she was a teenager and she rebelled.
And I'd get in trouble if things weren't done in the proper way.
So at 15, I went and stayed with an Aboriginal family,
So at 15, I went and stayed and I never returned back home.
Oh, God. She was young.
Too young.
Should have been still at home.
She had a mind of her own.
She'd do what she'd want to do.
And you couldn't stop her.
I can only try my best to bring And you couldn't stop her.
I can only try my best to bring her up the right way, can't I?
(LAUGHS) And I'm still trying.
My three sons all have different fathers.
My three sons After having the two eldest sons,
I was quite over After having the two eldest sons,
I was quite over men and relationships,
and I was quite happy with just my two boys.
But along came Sam from my past, and he was different.
We had been old flames 14 years prior.
Yeah, he struck gold when he got my daughter.
Mm. I think she did too.
She was happy. She deserved it.
Because she'd been out with quite a few men and that,
Because she'd been out with and he was good to her.
There's a lovely one with Troy.
Cassius was born on the 5th of September, 2007.
Cassius was born And that hair, eh?
It was Sam's first child, yeah.
Very, very proud moment.
Very proud.
That is so funny.
Cassius was always a special child.
He filled a room with his personality and with his smile.
Uh, even without speaking, he just filled a room.
His laugh was the first thing you could hear before anything.
His laugh was the first thing (LAUGHS)
I can still, even now, like, remember his laugh.
I can still, even now, (LAUGHS)
His laugh was just so loud
and it would just carry on,
carry on to the point, you know, of buckling over
and, you know, your rib cage going silly there. (CHUCKLES)
You know, he had that,
yeah, ability to wrap his arm around,
you know, his mates and really, yeah, pull 'em out.
Like if they were, yeah, struggling at all as well. you know, his mates and really, yeah, pull 'em out.
Like if they were, yeah, struggling at all as well.
So, yeah, just in so many ways he was, yeah, a really special kid.
MAN: He was the sort of student that knew right from wrong.
He would make sure that his friends followed the rules,
and, in fact, many staff would often say
that they wished they could have a classroom full of Cassius's.
Even if people were in trouble, that they wished they could have a classroom full of Cassius's.
Even if people were in trouble,
you know, like skipping class, anything like that,
he would try to get 'em out, set 'em straight,
even a little bit of tough love.
But it was...it was good for all of us.
Cassius was 13 when my husband Sam got diagnosed with cancer.
Cassius...
..he was in denial.
Sam tried to prepare him so many times.
And Cassius was just,
"It's OK, Dad. It's OK, Dad.
"They'll fix you."
LIZ: And I remember little Cassius
sat next to his father LIZ: And I remember little Cassius
sat next to his father all that time.
sat next to his father Did not leave him.
Not until the very, very end.
Everyone just rallied around Cass
'cause he was 14 at that time.
Like, "OK, we've got to wrap our arms around this young teenage boy
"who's just lost his father."
Who would have thought, like, two months and one day later
that the world would be so cruel?
Thursday 13th of October
was...was just an ordinary day for Cassius.
He would have gone home as per normal.
And he always walked with, um, friends.
And he always walked with, And they were very keen to go home
and to just to socialise and to have fun.
And on that day,
I knew Cassius was going down to the Midland shops
with a friend after school I knew Cassius was going down to the Midland shops
with a friend after school
and then come back home.
So I thought I'd go get my hair done.
And during that, I was getting a lot of private phone calls
And during that, I was getting and I didn't answer them.
Then I got a phone call
from one of Cassius's friend's mother,
and she told me that, um,
Cassius had been hurt
and he had been taken to hospital.
NEWSREADER: A teenage boy is fighting for his life after his...
REPORTER: Cassius Turvey was walking home from school with a friend
when a car full of strangers pulled up next to the teens...
REPORTER: Police allege one of the occupants got out
and chased them before assaulting Cassius with a metal pole.
Because he couldn't run as fast as the others,
you know, he's the one that got caught.
It just...
..gutting.
Just, yeah, gutting.
Very, very sad.
A child in his uniform coming home from school... Very, very sad.
A child in his uniform coming home from school...
..attacked brutally.
Anybody's child, whether you're black, white or brown,
should be able to be safe in this community.
On that particular day, he was not safe.
We went to the hospital.
The image of my boy with his head slashed open...
..one of his ears...
..hanging by a thread.
I'll always remember that look on his face,
I'll always remember that shocked look in his eyes
of "How did I end up here?"
They got some CAT scans done
and showed he had two huge bleeds on the brain.
So then they transported him to the kids' hospital in Perth,
where he stayed for five days.
He was just Cassius.
Cheeky, playing his PS4.
MAN: Just for the boys. Cheeky, playing his PS4.
MAN: Just for the boys. They can see you're doing well.
ROBYN: In the five days where Cassius was in hospital,
ROBYN: In the five days where he was in great spirits.
Oh, God damn!
(CHUCKLES)
Police should have came and taken (CHUCKLES)
Police should have came and taken another statement from him,
because I think a further statement would've...
..helped, especially when we've got a case coming up.
But the police's policy was with head injury victims,
wait till they get home,
then go and interview 'em.
When Cassius was discharged after the five days,
he just had the medication and a follow-up in six weeks' time.
Yeah, just "Take it easy," was the message.
And I thought, "I won't go around and see him.
"Let him rest. I'll head over there tomorrow."
I regret not going over.
He walked in the front door...
MAN: Little bro's out of hospital now.
..and grabbed his PS4 and went in his room.
Just looked like Cassius.
The normal Cassius.
Just around midnight-ish,
Cassius was really hot Just around midnight-ish,
Cassius was really hot and I was sponging him,
Cassius was really hot and I called the ambulance.
I can't breathe!
We set him down in my favourite chair on the patio
We set him down and he started screaming.
CASSIUS: Oh! I feel I can't breathe!
I'm gonna die.
I don't know why I videoed it.
I think I was just taking a picture of him just being in pain,
to let family know that he had to be taken back into hospital.
to let family know that he had to be I wasn't expecting him to say that.
That's the last time...
..Cassius spoke to me.
That's the last time I heard his voice.
He had a really long seizure.
He was put in an induced coma...
..where they found that he had some strokes and more bleeds.
So still. Not my boy.
Not my boy at all.
You know, I'm saying to myself. "Wake up, Cassius. Wake up."
But there was nothing, you know, there was nothing.
It was just horrible.
Mechelle did call me up and told me if I did want to, you know, It was just horrible.
Mechelle did call me up and told me if I did want to, you know,
say any last words to him or come pay him a visit.
I remember, yeah, just telling him it's alright.
I remember, yeah, just telling him Like...yeah. Just...
If he can't keep fighting, like,
it's just what it is that I loved him and...
it's just what it is Yeah.
(CRIES)
I would have liked to say goodbye, and I did,
but I would have liked to seen his eyes or some movement.
Some of Cassie's friends were there when it happened,
and when Cassie was taken away to the hospital.
The young boys that were there and seen everything,
The young boys that were there they were just left there.
Yeah. Everyone drove off.
So the boys jumped on the bus.
Traumatised. Left alone.
WOMAN: My son was there when it happened
and I was really disappointed in the police.
You know, these are kids
that something's happened to. You know, these are kids
that something's happened to.
And then to let them catch the bus home,
after all of that, after being scared,
I just feel like they did see them as Aboriginal kids,
that they're just run-amuck kids.
And you feel like that they...
That's how they got looked at.
When Steve Cleal from the Homicide Squad first came out to see me,
he didn't know that my husband had died
he didn't know and was buried three weeks prior.
And I was so angry.
I hammered him in anger about the kids being left there And I was so angry.
I hammered him in anger about the kids being left there
on the day Cassius was hurt.
I hammered him about the statement not being completed.
There was a definite phase where I had to earn her trust. I hammered him about the statement not being completed.
There was a definite phase where I had to earn her trust.
She needed a punching bag to hit and to get that off her chest.
Um, and...and it needed to be dealt with.
REPORTER: Vigils are being held across Australia to honour the life
REPORTER: Vigils are being held of Cassius Turvey.
MAN: (SHOUTS) What do we want? CROWD: Justice!
When do we want it? Now!
The national rallies and the vigils were huge.
I've never seen that many people come together.
It wasn't just our loss.
He was a loss for everyone It wasn't just our loss.
He was a loss for everyone for what he might have been.
EMILY: You know, everyone felt like that was their kid.
It wasn't black, white or anything like that.
It was... It was a child.
You can feel the anger around the country.
You can feel the anger Shame. Let me hear you.
CROWD: Shame!
Anger is the easiest place to go.
No black child is ever, ever, ever
in the wrong place or the wrong time on their own land.
in the wrong place or the wrong time (CHEERING, APPLAUSE)
Anger is probably the first step of grief. (CHEERING, APPLAUSE)
Anger is probably the first step of grief.
But Mechelle didn't go there.
We are all the same.
We are all one people.
I don't think we should We are all one people.
I don't think we should look at differences,
and I just want to put this message out stronger, stronger and stronger.
and I just want to put this message Kids matter.
They really do.
All our kids.
Black, white, brown.
STEPHEN: She's the mother of an Aboriginal boy who was attacked
STEPHEN: She's the mother of by a group of non-Aboriginal people.
"My boy was taken from me.
"How dare this happen?
"What can I do to...
"..to have this not happen again to...to someone else?"
"..to have this not happen again That was her message.
And she was very strong That was her message.
And she was very strong with trying to...
..to stop any other message getting through
..to stop any other message that would distract from that.
We know racism exists, but do not use my son's tragedy as a platform...
..to blow your trumpets.
(APPLAUSE)
(SIGHS)
I didn't want any more violence, I didn't want hatred,
I didn't want any more violence, and I didn't want Aboriginal people
again to be stereotyped and I didn't want Aboriginal people
again to be stereotyped as uncontrollable...
..um, and violent.
I wanted to...
Mmm.
..bring unity amongst everyone.
There's no doubt that Mechelle's presence and her words ..bring unity amongst everyone.
There's no doubt that Mechelle's presence and her words
helped to calm the situation.
Mechelle believed that justice would take its natural course...
..and that we needed to have faith in that justice
to ensure that it did happen.
So there are four young adults
all charged with the murder of Cassius.
The trial isn't set to... to go ahead until...
..next year, 2025,
so it is a long way off.
(SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY)
TISHAWN: I met Cassius first (SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY)
TISHAWN: I met Cassius first in Year 4, primary school.
Cassius was like a brother and best friend. TISHAWN: I met Cassius first in Year 4, primary school.
Cassius was like a brother and best friend.
(WHIPPER SNIPPER RUMBLES)
Cassius started the Lawnmower Boys when he was 13.
The neighbour across the road asked if he could, um, get his lawn mowed
The neighbour across the road asked by Cassius and one of his mates.
So Cassius went and mowed the lawn, came back really happy
So Cassius went and mowed the lawn, for a $50 note.
Cassius just, like, takes me out of the blue after doing a lawn,
and he got paid, um, good enough for it.
So he takes me and he's like, "Let's actually start this.
"Let's go around and knock on doors, ask people who got lawns."
So I was like... I got nothing else to do.
So proud of these guys.
They're just walking around with their lawn mowers, whipper snippers,
They're just walking around with to all the neighbours.
Cassius said to me, "How much do we charge?
"Can we ask them just to... 'You name the price'?"
I said, "Yeah, that's beautiful."
When Cassius passed away,
it took them a while to... When Cassius passed away,
it took them a while to... to get back into it...
..because it was a bit triggering,
but they want to carry on his legacy.
I feel like just mostly like rage.
But I try to turn that to, like, something good...
(TEARFULLY) ..something good for him.
This will be, as far as I know,
the last court hearing for the actual trial in the beginning of 2025.
the last court hearing for the actual So...
People might not understand why I want to go to court.
People might not understand Why I want to see their faces?
Why can't I wait later?
Why would I put myself through that?
But it's all about processing and not...not avoiding things.
The way this investigation has...has gone, But it's all about processing and not...not avoiding things.
The way this investigation has...has gone,
I've gotten to know Mechelle and her family very well.
Oh, he look very handsome today.
Like he's in black.
(LAUGHS)
We're going in there.
(LAUGHS)
He my brother.
Steve's always looking out for me.
He will call me, to check on me.
He always keeps me informed of court procedures.
What I may hear or what I may not hear.
What I may hear or He takes me to every court hearing.
We started out...
We had that professional aspect to us,
but we also have this friendship we've formed.
but we also have this friendship I just like the bloke.
He's... He's a friend.
I don't believe I said that, but he has become a friend.
PRODUCER: She describes you as a brother.
Oh, wow.
Yeah.
(SHAKILY) Yeah, good. Um... Uh...
Um, someone that's been through that kind of grief...
You know, to have someone have difficult conversations with her.
You know, to have someone have Um...
Just... Give us one tick. Yeah, sure.
Good policing means caring
and recognising you're dealing with people.
and recognising I can't give you the exact tools
on the best ways to work with victims of crime or trauma,
on the best ways to work but I can give you a few tips.
The police commissioner,
he approached me a couple of months after Cassius passed away,
he approached me a couple of months and he said, "I want my force
"to be more empathetic
"and to realise they're dealing with actual people.
"Would you be able to...
"..put something together and develop a program
"..put something together "and present it to new recruits?"
My aim is to stamp out "and present it to new recruits?"
My aim is to stamp out RoboCop attitudes.
You are going to have better outcomes, rapport,
if you use your heart and your sensitivity and humanity.
if you use your heart It would be better...to do this.
You'll probably get one of three responses.
"Fuck you, you pig! Get your fucking hands off me."
"Fuck you, you pig! Two. "I can put you up for assault."
Or three.
They will look into your eyes Or three.
They will look into your eyes and think,
"Fuck, this person's a human being, and they got a blue outfit."
She's called it Take 5 based on something that I truly believe in.
You can lose someone's trust in the first five seconds
that you walk into someone's house or walk into a situation.
How long does it take to... to earn trust?
How long does it take to... I don't think I could answer that.
How long does it take to lose trust?
Seconds.
The bottom line is, is that the police aren't going anywhere.
But the relationships must be improved.
She's giving it a go.
# That's why I'm easy... #
Everyone over here.
Steve Cleal nominated me for the Everyone over here.
Steve Cleal nominated me for the Australian of the Year awards for WA.
Steve Cleal nominated me for the (LAUGHTER)
(LAUGHS)
Told me over the phone,
and there was a lot of Fs that came out of my mouth.
And I hung up on him and said, "You shouldn't have done that.
"That's not me," and it really isn't me.
I do something because I want to do something,
I do something because not because I want an award.
Did I cop abuse for that.
(LAUGHS)
Yeah. The words she used are probably for a later timeslot.
ROBYN: I thought she would win.
But that's just me being her sister.
But I think the other side of me thinking, like, nah.
Because things like that don't happen to...us.
(APPLAUSE)
The 2024 Australian of the Year for Western Australia
The 2024 Australian of the Year is Mechelle Turvey.
(CHEERING, APPLAUSE)
I didn't even hear my name (CHEERING, APPLAUSE)
I didn't even hear my name get called.
I got a tap on the back by other people on the side of me.
STEPHEN: Yeah. Just very proud of her
for how she's dealt with this tragedy.
I think I've said to her afterwards,
"You know, you won that because of what YOU did."
And I'm here because of my son, and I hope I have made him proud.
And I'm still moulded by him even though he's left this earth.
ROBYN: I'm very happy for her and what she's achieving.
ROBYN: I'm very happy for her But then, I know where the seed...
..of her doing it comes from.
(SOBS)
This country should not know the name Cassius Turvey.
If they didn't know who Cassius Turvey was...
..our baby will still be here.
Ooh...
Each day now is still quite different.
(TEARFULLY) Sometimes when I've had a good day, I feel guilty.
But then other days, when I've had a good day...
..I feel strong,
and I know that my husband and my son would want me to be happy,
and I know that my husband and my son I know that.
Sun came out. Ooh! Thank you, Cassius.
Sun came out. Ooh! Yay. (LAUGHS)
I want to stay strong.
I want to live a good life...
..carrying on my son's legacy...
..and getting people to understand the qualities of Cassius.
I just want people to be good to one another.
Captions by Red Bee Media
Copyright Australian Broadcasting Corporation