Erin Jayne Plummer’s daughters farewell their father who took his own life two years after his wife’s suicide

EXCLUSIVE 

The three young daughters of television presenter Erin Jayne Plummer have said a final goodbye to their late father, two years after their mother took her own life. 

Alan Plummer died last month amid his own battle with mental health issues, leaving the girls – aged 18, 15 and 10 – to face the rest of their lives as orphans. 

But as mourners at Macquarie Park Cemetery and Crematorium heard on Thursday afternoon, the sisters will not be alone. 

Since Mr Plummer’s death, his daughters have been embraced by close friends of their parents, who have thrown loving arms around the siblings and taken them into their homes. 

The girls took turns on Thursday addressing a congregation of about 200, including scores of their school mates, who packed the Magnolia Chapel until it overflowed. 

Eldest daughter Elani directly addressed ‘this battle against mental health that seems to plague our family’ – a tight clan called the ‘The Plum Squad’ when it was intact.

She vowed that the scourge would stop now. 

She also explained how her father had tried to let her continue her childhood after losing his wife in traumatic circumstances, ‘when everyone else looked at me as a mother’.

Mr Plummer was found dead at Freshwater on the city’s northern beaches on November 10 after failing to meet a friend for a morning swim.

The friend rang police to request a welfare check and officers arrived at the Plummer family home in the same suburb to inform Elani her father was missing.

His body was found an hour later by a lifeguard at the foot of a cliff at Freshwater beach. 

Freshwater beach had been Erin’s favourite coastal spot, and it was there friends and family had gathered days after her death to hold a sunrise memorial.

A popular figure on Australian television from her years presenting advertorials, Erin was referred to as ‘EJ’ during her husband’s funeral.  

Elani began her eulogy by acknowledging the support she and her sisters had received since their father – widely known as ‘Big Al’ – died.

‘I firstly wanted to say a massive thank you to the families who have taken us three girls under their wings the past three weeks,’ she said. ‘We love you guys so much.’

Elani said she and her father had made a promise to be each other’s best friend forever while walking along Freshwater beach when she was 10-years-old. 

‘And nothing that our family has been through in the last two years could have prepared me for losing my best friend,’ she said.

‘I wish I could explain to you exactly what it was like being Alan’s daughter.’

Elani remembered her father as ‘the most loving, excitable, comforting, loving and genuine person I have ever met’.

‘He was my safety,’ she said. ‘Having Dad gave me the comfort to know that even when I had the worst day possible I still had someone who could make me smile. 

‘Comfort to know that when I got homesick, he could cure it in a 30 second phone call.

‘Comfort to know that his pride in me was unwavering, regardless of what I did or didn’t achieve. And comfort to know that he would give me complete honesty.’

Elani said her father had a habit of showing up at her school unannounced just to give her a hug. 

‘He let me feel like a kid when everyone else looked at me as a mother, or a guardian to my sisters,’ she said.

‘And I wish that I didn’t have to give that sense of freedom and childhood up but ultimately he’s the one and only person I would give it up for.’

Elani said her father had continued to raise ‘three of the most competitive girls you’ll ever meet’ in the absence of their mother.

‘And we promise to win this battle against mental health that seems to plague our family,’ she said. ‘And with patience and kindness I promise it stops here.’ 

Elani’s 15-year-old sister spoke straight to her father: ‘I’m still a little confused as to why I am here. The last few weeks have felt like I’m still waiting to run into your arms.’ 

Mr Plummer’s death came two months after he sold the family’s Freshwater home, which he and Erin bought in 2002.

Elani had only just completed her HSC and was out celebrating a friend’s 18th birthday the night before her father’s body was found.

Mr Plummer had planned to move with his 10-year-old daughter to Queensland to be closer to his 15-year-old, who is studying there on a sports scholarship.

The 15-year-old recalled her father picking her up from school and discussing where they would find a house. 

‘I remember turning to you and saying, ‘Dad, I’ll be happy with wherever we go because when I’m with you I am home”,’ she said.

‘Perhaps this is why I’ve been feeling a little lost, like I’m drifting downstream with nothing to really hold onto. 

‘Even if I can’t hug you or tell you how much I love you I’ll always be your baby girl.’

The service heard ‘the outpouring of love and support has been overwhelming’ for the three girls.

‘The way you opened your homes, embraced the girls and surrounded them with care is something we will never forget,’ a family representative said.

Kieran Martin, one of Mr Plummer’s oldest friends, told the sisters: ‘Your father loved you with every fibre of his being.’

‘Together with EJ they would want you to know that today and always they will be with you in the strength they taught you, the love they showed you and the memories you share,’ Mr Martin said. 

A GoFundMe appeal for the Plummer daughters has raised $26,555 of a $50,000 target.

‘Alan’s passing is a profound loss for all who knew him, and his absence is especially heart-wrenching for his three beautiful daughters,’ the fundraiser’s organiser said.

‘Tragically, this is the second devastating loss the girls have endured, having lost their mother only two years ago. 

‘Now, as they face a future without both parents, we, their community, are coming together to provide the support and stability they need.

‘We are raising funds to ensure [the children] have the resources to move forward – help with education, emotional support, and a secure foundation as they navigate this incredibly challenging time.’

Erin was just 42 when she took her own life in May 2022 following a battle with mental health problems. Her body was found at the base of Manly cliff.

Her husband, who worked in sales and marketing, had suffered his own mental health problems and faced medical issues. 

Elani shared her heartache when she spoke at her mother’s funeral.

‘Each day that passes I still don’t believe that she’s gone,’ the then 15-year-old said.

‘That a family of three girls will grow up without our mum – this is the thought I can’t seem to get over.’

‘Mum was loved by everyone. She was selfless and gave her everything to take my sisters and I to 40 activities each week.

‘She brought so much light to the world that we didn’t realise her heart was in so much pain.’

Elani concluded her tribute: ‘Mum, I hope heaven treats you better than we ever could. She’s not ours anymore but we are hers forever.’

The youngest Plummer daughter also spoke at her mother’s service, telling those gathered, ‘My mum was the best person ever. I will always love you dearly mum.’

Friends said Erin had stopped being her ‘bouncy, energetic self’ in the weeks before her suicide. ‘I wish we had found her a way through,’ one said.

Colleagues at Studio 10, where Erin became a fixture in Australian loungerooms, said they would miss her ‘sunshine’ in the studio and that the channel ‘lost a bit of its sparkle’.

During her career presenting advertorials, Erin also appeared on TVSN, Mornings with Kerri-Anne and The Morning Show, earning the nickname ‘The Danoz Girl’ after the marketing company Danoz Direct.

She was also a presenter for Aerobics Oz Style for six years. The instructional aerobics TV series, which aired from 1982 to 2005, had a global audience of 40 million people at its peak and was broadcast into more than 80 countries.

Erin was beloved for her charm, bubbly nature and ‘megawatt smile’.

She was described as a ‘gold medal mum’ to her daughters, who loved ones said she doted upon and were ‘mini-me’ versions of their mother.

In addition to her television career, Erin was an accomplished synchronised swimmer who represented Australia at three world championships and won 11 national titles.

She was thrust into the spotlight at a young age when scouted at Manly Beach and cast in a tourism campaign which aired on the NBC network in the US as the ‘Face of Australia’.

The Australian Tourism Commission campaign also led to her being cast on Baywatch Australia.

But it was her advertising roles for which Erin was best-known. Over the years, she spruiked everything from massage chairs and workout programs to slimming jeans and steam mops.

When Erin wasn’t in front of the camera, she did numerous voice-overs for TV.

Following her death, a GoFundMe campaign launched to help the Plummer family raised almost $28,000.

At the time of Mr Plummer’s death police said they would be preparing a report for the coroner. A wake was held on Thursday at Freshwater Surf Life Saving Club.