Two days after his daughter Airlie died in tragic circumstances, Corey Montgomery sat on a rock in bushland, overlooking a river.
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There he "bawled my eyes out, had a chat to her, and I kind of had two decisions to make sitting here, and I made the right one.
"And that was it. From then on my head cleared up," he said.
His head had been buzzing ever since he heard the tragic news his six-year-old daughter's body had been found at the bottom of a cliff in the area known as The Grotto, in NSW's Southern Highlands, a few hours after she went missing from the yard in which she was playing.
Mr Montgomery was working at a coal mine near Mudgee, in NSW's Central West, when word came through that Airlie was missing, and he immediately jumped in his car to return home.
He was about three hours from home when his partner Katie Amess called with the devastating news of Airlie's death.
That brought on "the most violent explosion of my soul being torn into a billion pieces," Mr Montgomery told a gathering at The Grotto on Sunday, March 15, in a service marking the first anniversary of Airlie's death.
But even through the trauma of hearing the worst imaginable news, "I heard the words 'keep going'. I had to get home, I had to keep moving forward."
Mr Montgomery said his head was buzzing from that time until he finally got to sit down in the bushland to talk to Airlie.
"And that was it. From then on my head cleared up."
He returns to the spot often, even though "It's hard to come here, but you walk away different every time."
Mr Montgomery said he went there to "reset" and speak to Airlie, asking, "Am I doing it right? Is this what I'm meant to be doing? Are you still here? And she tells me."
That spot now features a bright purple plaque as a permanent reminder of Airlie's short but impactful life.
It features the words, "Her voice now found behind closed eyes, in rainbows, stars and butterflies."
Mr Montgomery said he continued to be guided by Airlie's voice.
"Places like this, surrounded by nature, were her happy place. She found joy in things most of us walk past every day - sticks, rocks, a trickling stream or a puddle.
"This is where I hear her the loudest, where I check out from the world for an hour or so to reset, where I seek her guidance and reassurance that I'm doing the right thing, that I'm keeping the promise that I made to her to keep going, to keep moving forward."
The promise Mr Montgomery made while sitting in grief and tears a year ago has turned into the Airlie Fairy Foundation, which aims to work in the areas of disability, mental health and bereavement.
He said the foundation was established to remember Airlie's legacy and continue her story, and "to help others at critical times in which we so desperately were in need".
That included when battling through the red tape that surrounded so many aspects of life with the severely autistic child.
"We aim to be there when you need us most. To not simply advocate, raise awareness or be empty content creators, but concept creators," Mr Montgomery said.
"If something isn't working, let's fix it. If it isn't there, let's make it. If you are suffering we want to hear from you. If you make the decisions, I don't care what colour shirt you wear, we want to talk to you. It's time we paint the red tape purple."
The foundation's first project is already taking shape, working with Shoalhaven Council to upgrade Drexel Park near the Montgomery family home and Airlie's former school in North Nowra on the NSW South Coast, making it more suitable for children with disabilities.
"We're looking at accessibility, footpath access, soft fall flooring, shade sails, a water bubbler, sensory-aimed activities incorporated right into the design, fully fenced and gated access - those sort of things," Mr Montgomery said.
"This is a project concept that I hope to replicate with other councils across the nation."
He also wanted to remind people in the trenches of life's battles to "Pop your head up every now and then, have a look at how you're tracking, what you're doing, if all your ducks are in a row, make your little adjustments, and then get back in the grind again."
Mr Montgomery said he hoped the area where the Airlie Fairy Foundation was launched, and where they built a fairy garden along the bush track, would provide a spot where people could stop and reflect.
"It's life in general for me, it's looking back at me being a workaholic and going away for weeks on end, doing what I was doing and leaving Katie here to battle with three kids, a severely autistic child, and telling myself 'It's what I've got to do'.
"I had to provide for my family, but it's making you aware of the expense of that, and that's what I want people to learn," he said.
"I'm a coal miner and here I am now launching a charity. I tell you what, if I can pull this out of a hat and do this, and do some good, anybody can."
But while moving forward with the charity and new projects, the pain of Airlie's loss still stings.
Mr Montgomery said Airlie's room remained as she left it and, "The quiet still haunts us, everything we do feels harder, carrying the weight of her loss, a weight we cannot, and I believe will not, shake.
"Life hurts. But I believe we have the power to shape our own resilience, to make the decision to no longer be a victim of circumstance.
"You have the capacity to be stronger than you could ever envision. We are a testament to that. So keep going and keep moving forward," he said.
