Grief-stricken family of toddler who drowned at home weeks before his fourth birthday break their silence
Three-year-old Dion Robbins drowned in the swimming pool at his Palmerston home in the Northern Territory on Saturday afternoon.
The happy-go-lucky adventurous boy used a stool to reach the pool latch and let himself in to collect some toys but he tragically fell into the pool.
Dion's aunty Sue Longstaff has started a GoFundMe page to support the family.
'There are no words to describe the pain of his loss, he was weeks away from celebrating fourth birthday,' she wrote on the page.
'The family is understandably devastated and would be forever grateful for any support their local community might be in a position to provide so that little Dion can be laid to rest respectfully.'
One of Dion's other aunts Lizzie Robbins said the family was overcome with grief.
'Dion was the most caring and loving little boy... any room he walked into he made people smile and laugh' Ms Robbins told NT News.
'He had the most infectious laugh and loved his baby brother endlessly.
'They were the two amigos - always getting into mischief together.'
The GoFundMe has raised nearly $8,500 of the $16,000 target as time of writing.
Sophie Higgins made a $200 donation to the family.
'Thinking of you all through this heartbreaking time,' she said.
'Dion was such a confident and cheeky boy that we enjoyed seeing at childcare pickups and drop offs. Thanks for being Tilly's little friend, love the Higgins family.'
The incident comes after the Northern Territory records Australia's highest rates of drownings of all regional areas in Australia in 2024 with 6.06 per 100,000 people, according to a Royal Life Saving Australia report.
Darwin, Palmerston and Litchfield had the highest drowning rates of all metropolitan areas in Australia at 2.4 per 100,000.
Floss Roberts, from Royal Life Saving NT, said the disturbing statistics were the result of a number of different factors.
'The NT has a very high number of home swimming pools and spas,' Ms Roberts said.
'Our extremes of living in a tropical climate also puts Territorians more at risk of drowning than other states.'
Up to 37 per cent of drownings recorded in the NT over the last decade were in rivers or creeks. In the same period, 28 per cent of the 68 drownings occurred in pools.
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