Theresa and Kevin Warrington, with their daughter Cynthia, 4, attended Tuesday's vigil for Maggie Watson. Photo / Michael Craig
Theresa and Kevin Warrington, with their daughter Cynthia, 4, attended Tuesday's vigil for Maggie Watson. Photo / Michael Craig
Residents rally to support each other in the aftermath of tot’s death.
Theresa Warrington did not know Maggie Watson or her mother. She had never paid attention to the little girl playing on the front lawn when she ran past on her daily jog. She did not know the 4-year-old followed her mother around like a shadow.
She did not know thechild had died in the home five doors from hers on Moana Ave, Onehunga, until she saw the blue-and-red flashing lights early on Friday, August 7.
That's the day the woman at 15A — and the rest of the people on that street — got to know their neighbours.
"When there is a tragedy, everybody comes together and I was amazed. I was surprised to see the number of people who were out there for her vigil [on Tuesday night]," she said.
"I shop around the area, I try to keep it in our small community. So you see the same faces. You don't know their names but their face is familiar to you."
Evelyn Sen was one of those faces. The mother of the dead 4-year-old opened the door at 27 Moana Ave to Warrington's three trick-or-treating children on Halloween last year. Their daughters were the same age. They never spoke again.
"Before this I didn't realise how everybody cares about each other. And then something like this happens and everybody comes together. It's quite nice because we're all different cultures and ethnicities but that doesn't matter," she said.
On a tragic Friday morning, Sen called police to her home at 4am. The officers found Maggie dead.
Sen was taken for treatment for what has been described as "superficial injuries".
She remains in the care of the Auckland District Health Board.
More tests were ordered on Maggie's body after initial post-mortem examination results failed to find a cause of death. Police are still waiting for those results.
The residents of Moana Ave have bonded over the tragedy.
They have opened their doors to each other and they've even opened their wallets.
South African Desmond Gilmore lives at 23 with his wife Kim. They've led the neighbourly charge — mainly because they knew the little girl and her mother.
Maggie used to sit in his racing car when he worked on it, and she would watch cartoons on his big TV. Now, he's arranging and paying for costs associated with her funeral.
4 year old Maggie Watson.
"I knew two other families on this street before Maggie died. It has shown how strong our community is," he said.
"Now after this has happened, all the neighbours start speaking to you. They all want to know what happened, how it happened, when it happened."
Gilmore and his wife organised Tuesday's vigil for Maggie, attended by more than 50 people.
Gilmore has also been authorised by the girl's Malaysia-based grandfather to organise her funeral on Wednesday. Before Maggie's death, the residents on Moana Ave were some of the 73 per cent of Kiwis who did not feel close to the people in their local area.
The Sovereign Wellbeing Index, published in April, ranked New Zealand lower than the 29 European countries for community connections. Only 24 per cent of Kiwis thought the people in their local area were willing to lend a helping hand.
Dr Grant Schofield, director of the human potential centre at AUT Millennium, said people who felt close to others in their community were four times more likely to have a high wellbeing than those who didn't.
He said it was "good, but a shame" that tragedy tied communities together more securely. "It's the human condition. Give people a reason to band together and they will.," he said.
The wellbeing index surveys about 10,000 New Zealanders every two years. They are asked the same questions asked throughout Europe, including "do you feel close to the people in your neighbourhood" and "do people help one another?"
Schofield said Auckland rated the worst for community unity in New Zealand.
• Was found dead in her Onehunga home on August 7. • Her mother, Evelyn Sen, is in the care of the Auckland District Health Board. • Police still wait for test results to determine cause of death. • Maggie will be farewelled at St Mark's Church, Pakuranga, on Wednesday, followed by a private cremation.
