Shellharbour Harbour will always hold a special place in Mavis Hall's heart.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The 68-year-old, better known as 'May' to those close to her, lost her son Mark in a hit-and-run accident at Albion Park about 30 years ago.
Mark died just before his 16th birthday and his ashes were later scattered in the ocean near the harbour.
On Sunday, Mother's Day, May's family came together near Little Park - to reflect, to remember and to celebrate.
And what better day to have five generations of women from the family, aged between eight and 86 years, together in the one place.
"That was something I really wanted to do, to be with my kids, my mum, my grandchildren and great-grandchildren," May, who grew up in the Wollongong area but now lives in Boorowa, said.
"I'm over the moon about it."
May's 86-year-old mum, Shirley Cecil, was the most senior of the group.
Shirley has lived in the same house at Unanderra since she was 17 and is now battling dementia - making the Mother's Day gathering even more significant for the family.
May was also joined on Sunday by her daughter Lisa, Lisa's daughter Kimberly, and Kimberly's daughter Teleah.
She described her family as "my whole world".
"We're a very, very close-knit family, we all care about each other. It doesn't matter what's in front of us, we pool together," she said.
"The love that we've got ... with all of us here at the moment, it's overwhelming."
HUNDREDS JOIN MOTHER'S DAY RUN
North Wollongong's Stuart Park was a sea of pink early on Sunday as more than 1200 people kick-started Mother's Day with a charity fun run.
The 13th annual Wollongong Mother's Day Classic, one of many raising cash for breast cancer research nationwide, continued the tradition started by the late Doctor Margaret Gardiner.
Dr Gardiner, a public advocate for breast cancer awareness, lost her personal battle with the disease in 2017.
Organiser Grant Plecas was thrilled with the turnout, which was up on last year.
Sunday's event had raised at least $40,000 for the National Breast Cancer Foundation.