Off-shore winds whipped up handfuls of rose petals as friends formed a circle and released the 34-year-old’s ashes to the place where his lifelong love of surfing was born. 

Mr Haydon’s mother, grandparents, and sister Heidi Haydon watched the spectacle from the sand, with a speaker keeping his voice, his music, close. 

“It was absolutely breathtaking,” Heidi would later tell the Mercury. 

“The amount of people that came, and the sight of that paddle out and all the surfers splashing the water and throwing their flowers up – I couldn’t think of a better send-off for him.” 

Read more: Jae Haydon, ‘nicest guy around’, killed in Bali big surf

Mr Haydon’s riderless, broken surfboard was found washed ashore near Uluwatu, Bali on April 23. 

Surfers later reported the board snapped in a wipeout at the surf break Impossibles, and that they had been unable to pull Mr Haydon to safety. His body was recovered at Pedang Pedang that evening. 

His death sparked an outpouring of tributes from friends he had made around the world, while leading an unconventional lifestyle shaped by music, surf and friendship. 

Addressing the crowd at Woonona on Friday, Heidi recalled a conversation her mother Jenni had had with Jae years ago, when he was contemplating how to balance his life passions with the need to earn a living

“He said, ‘I just don’t want to be at a BBQ when I’m 50 saying, ‘yeah, I was gonna do that’,” she recalled. 

“[Jenni] told Jae his life didn’t have to look like everyone else’s and that the important things in life are who you are, not what you own, so if you have a dream – go chase it.

“We all know that Jae not only chased that dream down hard, but he lived it …  I will miss just knowing my big brother was somewhere in the world … smashin’ life.” 

Mr Haydon taught himself to play guitar at a young age. He could hear a melody and instantly replicate it, his sister said. 

He made a living playing at weddings and music venues and used his talent to travel the world, favouring surf and ski locations, particuarly Bali. 

“He has had these insane experiences, travelling around the world and non-stop playing music,” Heidi told the Mercury. 

“Everywhere he went he met someone and they ended up becoming extended family that, no matter which country he went to, he always had someone to stay with.” 

In 2015 he recorded a cover song each day for 30 days as part of a fundraiser, Sing for Spinal Cord Injury, aimed at raising $10,000 for the spinal cord rehabilitation centre Sargood. 

It was a cause close to his heart after Heidi was left paralysed from the chest down after a drug-affected driver ran her motorbike off the road in 2009. 

Woonona was his childhood home; in recent years he based himself at Sussex Inlet. 

It has been a source of comfort to Mr Haydon’s family to find newly recorded songs of his that they had not yet heard. 

Friends are planning to finish the album he was working on under his band name – Siren Songs. 

“He loved to make a living doing covers and just giving everyone an awesome night. He was always someone who lived to please other people. But on the side he was such an amazing songwriter," Heidi said. 

“He didn’t want to be famous. He didn’t want any of that, he just loved writing music and putting it out.”

First of all, we are so overwhelmed by the support and love we feel at this time. Thank you all for being here to celebrate Jae and bring a part of Jae back to Woonona where his passion for surfing exploded.

I’ll never forget Jae storming past me all the time while I was sitting on the lounge doing nothing. He’d yell “why don’t you do something productive!” I had no idea that his definition of being productive meant successfully owning your own business that allowed you to travel the world at a moment’s notice surfing, snowboarding and gigging – all while making friends that would become his extended family.

Our love of music came at a young age listening to our cassette tapes. I can still remember Jae learning songs and hearing the noise of token cassette button mashing: stop, rewind, play, stop, rewind, play. I was always amazed at how fast he learnt songs and shred them exactly like the track. Even the ads on telly, we’d be quietly watching (him with his guitar, picking away to what I thought was nothing), by the time an ad finished he’d already learnt the melody. The earliest one I can remember, was when he turned to me and picked the melody of: “This goes with that at Sussan”. We both lost it and laughed so hard.

I know the impact he made when I’d bring him in to work at the spinal wards in Sydney to play some tunes for a couple of hours. I’d check in to see how far off he was, and he’d say, “Just driving up from Jindy so should be there round 10:30 – make that 11:52 actually 12 o’clock” and then he’d rock up at 12:30. For those 2 hours people could just forget and immerse themselves in Jae’s music. Typical of Jae, he would read the crowd and play to cater, there was a kiwi client of mine listening not really participating and next thing you know, Jae starts playing “Da da da boom boom da da da boom boom da da da boom boom da da da da dooow” This bloke just lit up, fist pumping and sang every word. One he finished up he would say “Well I’m off, back down to Jindy! Playin at the Banj tonight ay”.

I will miss the random voice clips he would send me while he was driving from gig to gig of either, songs that he was learning, Spanish or Japanese lines, Family Guy quotes and Twelfth Man Quotes like the New Zealand Rugby Team “Want any Tomato? No I’m OK, Ta!”. I will miss he and I going back and forth quoting Adam Sandler and Jim Carrey forgetting anyone was around, I will miss getting to see him play when he was in Sydney. I will miss just knowing my big brother was somewhere in the world smashin life.

We were so fortunate to be raised by our Mum to live free, be true to who we are and to work to live – not live to work. I am so proud that my big brother lived this lifestyle to a T, I am proud of what he achieved, and I am lucky to have had the privilege of watching him grow from a long-haired punk making Tension videos to a long-haired punk who was also passionate, driven and a focused man living to please, making any interactions; conversations, gigs or weddings, a golden moment to remember.

I had no idea the impact he had on so many people’s lives until the beautiful pictures and stories popped up on facebook that day. His passion for life, music, surf, sun and snow drove him to experience this world in a way not many get to. We are forever grateful we got to share him with you all.

Mum always remembers a conversation with Jae in the backyard at Woonona years ago, where he was struggling with balancing his life passions with earning a living. He said, “I just don’t want to be at a bbq when I’m 50 saying “yeah I was gunna do that”. She told Jae his life didn’t have to look like everyone else’s and that the important things in life are who you are not what you own....so if you have a dream.... go chase it. 

We all know that Jae not only chased that dream down hard, but he lived it. And it seems from the outpouring of beautiful tributes from each and every one of you, and many more from all over the world, that it really did matter, who Jae was!

Mum was able to get us through the long journey from my accident to living an independent life by focusing on our “luckies”. We think we can make it through this journey by focusing on the luckies:

Lucky, we have a treasure trove of videos and photos of Jae that are so real and true we can never forget him

Lucky we will never forget that infectious smile and that laugh

Lucky he was such a distinctive character there is probably not a person here who can’t do an impression of him like “just do it!!!!! See what happens” and

Lucky for all of us, that will allow him to live on in each of us

We know life has to go on, but because you were all so important to Jae and helped complete him as a gorgeous young man, it will help mum and I to know, that when you go to all the future weddings, gigs, parties and travels, that you raise a glass to him, do your impressions of him and take him along on your journeys. 

And when you’re all celebrating your 50th’s please have a little moment and celebrate that Jae wasn’t going to do it...... HE DID IT!!!!