Photographs and memories were all of smiling faces. No one mentioned their husband, father and killer

This article is more than 6 months old

This article is more than 6 months old

Hannah Clarke and her three children were farewelled together in a single white coffin.

Photographs and memories at their funeral service on Monday were all of smiling faces and treasured times together. There were no pictures of their husband, father and killer. No one uttered his name.

“[There was] rolling thunder the night you passed,” Hannah’s friend, Lou Farmer, told mourners.

“You were angry, and so were we. We just couldn’t understand.”

Outside the funeral on Monday, heavy rain had set in over Brisbane’s southern suburbs where Clarke and the children – Aaliyah, 6, Laianah, 4, and Trey, 3 – were doused in petrol and set alight in their car on the way to school last month.

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Witnesses say Clarke screamed “he’s poured petrol on me” as she jumped from the car. She died in hospital hours later. The children, who were wearing safety restraints, were unable to escape.

The deaths have sparked calls for greater efforts to understand and respond to family violence and coercive control. The prime minister, Scott Morrison, and the Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, were among the many community leaders to attend the service.

Clarke’s younger brother, Nat Clarke, told mourners how their father, Lloyd, had called her his “brown-eyed girl” after hearing the song by Van Morrison on the radio the day she was born.

“We weren’t brother and sister, we were friends,” Nat Clarke said. “You’re so amazing Han, it’s no wonder your kids were just the same.

“Aaliyah, you were everything a big sister should be – brave, strong and quite bossy.

“Laianah, you were the ratbag, the little middle [child]. There was so much of Hannah in you. You were beautiful, sweet and caring with an amazing imagination. You were the sweetest kid and a beautiful mermaid.

“Trey [was his] mother’s little man and her best surprise.”

Nat Clarke also spoke about reconnecting with his sister during the past six months, as she began to escape a controlling and violent relationship with her husband, Rowan Baxter.

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“It kills me Han that there were years we didn’t talk,” he said.

“But I understand that now. I just wish I tried harder to connect with you during those times. But I am so grateful we got the last six months with you and the kids.

“I loved that we had you back in our lives and that our kids got to make so many great memories. 2020 was going to be the best year.”

Lifelong friend Nikki Brooks said Clarke, a fitness instructor and trampolining champion, was selfless, fierce and funny.

“She was completely infectious, the kind of person you want in your corner and need in your life,” Brooks said.

“The qualities that made her a great friend also made her an incredible mother.”

“You had my back and without a shadow of a doubt I would have laid down my life for you and I am so, so sorry I could not protect you.”

Farmer said people who met Clarke “knew she was something special”.

“She made everyone feel important in whatever room she was in.

“That smile drew you in.”