Father keeps 'happy wee girl' close | Canterbury News | Local News in Canterbury

Wherever he goes, Glenn Prattley keeps his baby daughter close to him - even though he lost her in the February earthquake one year ago.

A small cardboard box holds the ashes of five-week-old Taneysha Gail Rose Prattley, who was fatally crushed along with her mother, and Mr Prattley's partner, Kelsey Moore, when building debris fell on them.

Mr Prattley, 29, who saved his sister Rochelle from the same fate by pushing her out of the way of the falling masonry, wants to have his "very happy wee girl's" ashes with him until he is ready to let her go and bury them in a family plot in Dunedin.

"They come everywhere with me. When I go to work she usually stays in the car, she comes inside at night- time. It's just so that it feels as though she's still a part of me, she's still here with me."

Taneysha and Miss Moore are both always on his mind.

"Taneysha was my first child, but I loved both of them pretty much the same."

"Kelsey, she was very caring. She would always put everybody else's needs before her own. She was pretty much always smiling. Taneysha pretty much took after Kelsey. She was always smiling, tongue hanging out of her mouth, (having) hiccups.

"It's just so hard to believe that it's actually been almost a year since it happened. I still find it hard to believe that it has happened."

Mr Prattley cannot help reliving the events of February 22, and is haunted by thoughts of what he could have done differently. Mr Prattley was walking through central Christchurch with his sister - on the way to take her to a bus to return her home to Dunedin, with Miss Moore trailing behind them carrying Taneysha - when the quake struck.

"Quite often, just out of the blue, I end up with tears in me eyes, thinking about it all. I still have the thoughts going through my head 'how come I could help my sister, but there was no way I could help my partner and daughter?'. That same thought keeps going over and over in my head."

Miss Prattley, 21, blamed herself for what had happened because a disagreement between her and Miss Moore had resulted in them going into central Christchurch for her to catch a bus back to Dunedin that day.

"Even though it was no-one's fault - it was just wrong place, wrong time."

Both Mr Prattley and his sister suffered serious leg injuries from being hit by falling debris, and Miss Prattley has been in hospital this week having an operation on her foot.

Mr Prattley is working as a labourer in Christchurch and trying to move on as best he can. His mother has come up from Dunedin to join him for today's memorial services. Aside from that, it will be a quiet day to remember.

His hope is that people commemorating February 22 will "stay strong and remember the good times".

"I hope everything gets a bit better for everyone."