- Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this story may contain images of deceased persons.
THEY WERE mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters. Teammates, partners, colleagues, friends.
Each one of them was so much more than what happened to them.
When the tight-knit community of Singleton was shattered by such immense loss that night, the community pulled its broken pieces together to show great strength.
And for that, reflecting on 12 months since the disaster, mayor Sue Moore said thank you.
"Thank you for continuing to support the families," she said.
"Singleton is a close-knit community, like many other country towns, and you have been a great support for family and friends of those that we have lost."
The coach rollover sent shockwaves across Australia and continues to make national headlines.
But for Singleton, a mining town of 25,000 people on the banks of the Hunter River, it was devastating.
At the time of the crash, 35 wedding guests were on board, returning from a Hunter Valley estate to the newlywed couple's hometown of Singleton.
Many of those involved in the crash lived and worked in the local community, several were connected with the Singleton Roosters Australian Football Club.
Cr Moore said she remembered exactly what she was thinking when she heard the news: "This can't be happening."
"It was - and is - an absolute nightmare, and it comes back to them every day, I know," she told the Newcastle Herald.
"The wider community is still there to give them support coming up to the anniversary."
Cr Moore said she was proud of the way locals stepped up to raise well over $1 million for people directly affected by the tragedy, protect the families from "intrusive" media attention, and be there for each other.
"In our community, the families that were in town would have been supported with food, buffering from the media, anything they could do to support them," she said.
"And then of course there were the funerals that were massively attended by a lot of the community."
Zachary Bray was a mining engineer graduate who was working in the Hunter, playing for the Roosters, had his pilot's licence and was a "beautiful soul". He had "bounced back" from stage-three bowel cancer at just 25 years old.
Married couple Andrew and Lynan Scott were heavily involved in the Roosters and the parents of two little boys.
Doctor Rebecca Mullen grew up with her family in Singleton and was working as a junior medical officer at Calvary Mater Hospital in Newcastle. She loved children and was remembered as a "beautiful soul".
Mother and daughter Nadene and Kyah McBride were forceful presences in the Roosters club. Graham McBride, husband and father, said his "firecrackers" shared a smile that lit up any room.
Tori Cowburn, of Singleton and the Roosters, was the life of the party and loved adventure, sports, country music, dogs, novels, the water, and was captivated by anything Disney.
Kane 'Sug' Symons was a "great bloke" and surfer who grew up in Tasmania and had plans to finish his apprenticeship then travel Europe for six months with his partner, Kyah McBride.
Darcy Bulman was beloved in her community of Warrandyte in Victoria and was remembered as an incredible human, full of positivity and energy.
Angus Craig was remembered as a caring brother, loving partner and a goofy friend. He grew up in Jervis Bay and studied engineering.
Twenty-five others were on the bus that night. Many were seriously injured, and all live with trauma and grief.
Family members gave touching tributes to their loved ones at a public memorial service last year, to honour the "beautiful 10", and to thank emergency services.
The lost lives of the bus crash
"It was something that obviously the wider community will never forget, the families on a whole different scale obviously, it's ripped their families apart forever," Cr Moore said.
She said it had been important for her to listen, and "just be there for them".
Cessnock council has created a memorial a short distance from the Wine Country Drive roundabout, and a family-made garden has been built and nurtured at the crash site.
"I'm sure both of those spots will be visited in the weeks and days after the anniversary," Cr Moore said.
Upper Hunter MP Dave Layzell told the Herald ahead of the one-year anniversary time did not heal, but hopefully softened the pain.
"Every day, you've got to get up, you've got to move forward, you've got to take those steps, but that emotion will always be there, that heartbreak will always be there," he said.
He said each person who died in the crash would be remembered in their communities for the people they were.
"They are lost to us now, but their memory will remain," he said.
"l'm sure that the town will not forget, ever, that this happened. The Hunter Valley will always remember."
Mr Layzell said he too had seen Hunter communities pull together in the time of tragedy, immediately after the crash and in the year afterwards.
"Everyone wants to help. And we saw that, all the way across the nation," he said.
"Everyone desperately wants to help, but at the end of the day, nothing that people can do can bring people back, can mend a broken heart.
"I think it's been really eye-opening to see how communities come together, when they don't know what to do, but of course they are supporting each other in all different ways."
Some family members involved in the tragedy have been pushing for bus safety reform and changes to how victims of crime are consulted.
"What immense strength does it take, when when you've seen a tragic circumstance like this, that you then rally and focus on something that can improve society across the board," Mr Layzell said.
"At the end of the day all we can really do is put our hand out, and if they need it, we are there, and we have tried to advocate for them on issues that they have tried to advocate on."
- Support is available for those who may be distressed. Phone Lifeline 13 11 14; MensLine 1300 789 978; Kids Helpline 1800 551 800; beyondblue 1300 224 636; 1800-RESPECT 1800 737 732.
