The West Australian exclusive

Horrocks Beach cliff plunge victim Louis Eeles’ childhood sweetheart Kayla Stubbs tells of her heartbreak

Anna CoxThe West Australian
CommentsComments
Camera IconLouis Eeles and girlfriend Kayla Stubbs. Credit: supplied/ supplied

The childhood sweetheart of one of the young men killed when their car plunged off a cliff north of Geraldton has told of her heartbreak, saying it is “impossible to put into words how amazing he was”.

Matthew Farr and Louis Eeles were two inseparable, fun-loving mates who were in the ocean more than they were on land.

Spending their free time fishing and diving, if the 22-year-olds weren’t in the water they were beside it — camping or four-wheel-driving along the coast with friends.

But a seemingly normal camping trip last weekend turned into the cruellest misadventure of all, when Mr Farr and Mr Eeles decided to go four-wheel driving 10km north of Horrocks Beach just after midnight on Sunday.

By accident, the mates careered off the edge of a cliff to their deaths.

Read more...

Miraculously, their 21-year-old back seat passenger survived, climbed and walked to raise the alarm with three other friends who had stayed behind at the campsite and noticed their prolonged absence.

Their deaths have left their families and wide circle of friends devastated and reeling at how just another normal adventure turned into the ultimate tragedy.

Camera IconLouis Eeles (right) and Matthew Farr. Credit: Facebook/Facebook

Mr Eeles’ girlfriend of four years, Kayla Stubbs, said “he was so loved by everyone”.

“He’d do anything for anyone. And his sense of humour — it was contagious, his personality and love for life, it made everyone so happy. He was never the type to be sad,” she said.

She described her high-school sweetheart as someone who worked hard and played harder. Mr Eeles was just beginning his apprenticeship to become a refrigeration technician.

“He lived for the ocean and the adrenaline,” Ms Stubbs said.

Ms Stubbs was meant to go on the camping trip, but a last-minute request from Mr Eeles, asking her to run an errand on his behalf meant she missed out on the fateful trip.

“He wanted me to buy him something from the markets. He loved his soaps and scent diffusers. He liked most things boys didn’t, but he really took care of himself, he had a better skin care routine than me,” she laughed.

Ms Stubbs expressed her heartbreak at losing her “partner, confidant and rock” in a death notice in the Geraldton Guardian. “With you by my side, I felt invincible, as if we were embarking on a grand adventure together, nothing else mattered,” she wrote.

Leigh Fulker, a workmate and friend of Mr Farr’s, said “the world is a worse place without him in it”.

“I spoke to him that night. I was having a few friends over in Perth and wanted to see if he was around,” he said.

“He was just such a generous, selfless person. I only knew him for a couple of years, but my life is better off for the time he was in it.”

The three remaining friends at the campsite had set out to find their mates, stumbling upon the survivor of the crash who had scaled the cliff face to seek help. He was last listed as being in a stable condition in Royal Perth Hospital, with spinal and neck injuries.

Get the latest news from thewest.com.au in your inbox.

Sign up for our emails