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Brooke Tuhakaraina was found dead in a town about 350 kilometers north of Perth on Wednesday.
A Gore teenager found dead in the Western Australia region was a working shearer from a fledgling family.
Brooke Tuhakaraina, 19, was discovered in her bed by a friend on Wednesday morning in the city of Port Denison, about 350 kilometers north of Perth.
While the Washington police have yet to rule out foul play, Tuhakaraina’s aunt Christine Tamou said her niece had some health problems and believed she died in her sleep.
Tuhakaraina was cheerful, carefree and had many friends, said Tamou.
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The former Gore high school student had been in shearing sheds since she was a child and worked in the industry for three years, she said.
Tuhakaraina moved to Australia about a year ago, worked in WA and had been in Port Denison for about a month, Tamou said.
The 19-year-old “hard worker” had an extended family in WA but left the South Island alone, Tamou said.
The family had been bought in shearing, he said.
Due to Covid-19 travel restrictions, Tuhakaraina’s family did not plan to go to Washington.
A family member would travel back to New Zealand with his body, Tamou said.
Tamou said she was disappointed that the family had been contacted by people who said they could investigate the circumstances of Tuhakaraina’s death, who she believed were scammers.
The family knew there was no foul play involved, and it was disappointing that scammers tried to take advantage of a grieving family, Tamou said.
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Brooke Tuhakaraina was found dead in regional WA on Wednesday. Pictured here at a younger age.
On Friday, a WA police spokeswoman said police were waiting to determine if the death was suspicious.
Local detectives and specialists were expected at the scene Friday, he said.
The property she was found on belonged to a shearing contractor and the property she lived on was shared by workers from a local shearing company, 7News Australia reported.
Port Denison is a crabbing center and, together with the directly neighboring town of Dongara, some 2,700 people live in the townships.
Tributes to Tuhakaraina had been hitting social media.
“I will love you always and forever Brooke, absolutely devastated to hear about this tragedy,” says one.
“Rip beautiful girl. Thanks for the best 3 years of knowing you. You will be missed. All my love to whanau. It will forever hold on to all our xxx memories, ”says another.
