January 2, 2009: - - Gold Coast teenager Mackenzie 'Macca' Walker lived to surf and yesterday he was given a true surfer's send-off. Mackenzie, 13, died tragically on December 20 when he crashed his new trail bike, given to him as an early Christmas present, into a fence on a Gold Coast hinterland property.

An extreme sports fanatic, he loved to ride the waves as much as the trails and the Gold Coast surfing community turned out in force yesterday to say goodbye. In a traditional surfing salute, boardriders - some with “RIP Macca'' daubed on their boards - paddled out at his local break of Palm Beach.

Led by Mackenzie's father Drew and older brother Dougal, 17 - who both shared Mackenzie's love of the ocean - the surfers linked arms astride their boards to form a circle. Inside the circle, in a rubber dinghy, sat Mackenzie's mother Sandy Dobson. She watched as the surfers beat and splashed the water with their hands as they cheered and wept for their lost surfing “brother.”

Then, into a mass of frangipani flowers floating on the gentle blue swells, Ms Dobson dived. In a poignant ending to the service, she belly-boarded a wave all the way to the beach. Mackenzie would have been proud. “Macca was a special kid, always mischievous . . . a larrikin,'' she said. ”Everyone was lucky to have had him as part of their lives and memories.''

Full article & photo at Courrier Mail