The family of Queensland woman Brianna Lani Cronin is appealing for financial help to bring her home to Australia after she died in a fall from the cliffs above Kelingking Beach on Nusa Penida, Bali.
Brianna, 29, fell on September 12. Her body was taken from Nusa Penida to Bali Mandara Hospital on Wednesday, four days after the incident, with an autopsy scheduled for about 5pm on Thursday, according to a forensic doctor at the hospital.
Her relatives have launched a GoFundMe appeal to meet the cost of returning her remains to Australia, saying bringing her home was their “first and most important goal”. By midday on Thursday, more than $40,000 had been raised.
“Our hearts are broken,” the family wrote in the appeal. “Our kind, loving and beautiful daughter and sister, Brianna Lani Cronin, has passed away in Bali, and right now she is so far from the people who love her most.”
They said the money would pay for “the safe return from Bali to Australia so that we can hold her close, say goodbye properly, and lay her to rest surrounded by family and friends”.
Brianna Cronin remembered by family
Brianna was described as “kindred spirit, quirky, bubbly and endlessly curious”, with a laugh that brought people together.
“If you knew Brianna, you know she lit up every room she walked into,” her family said. They remembered her as “a friend to everyone she met, a caring sister and a loving daughter and granddaughter”.
Her loved ones said she was happiest outdoors, exploring nature and noticing details others might miss. She practised yoga, climbed mountains, travelled widely and enjoyed exploring rainforests.
“She would be the one wandering off the track to look at a mushroom, crouching beside tiny wildflowers, or gently holding a python while the rest of us kept our distance,” they wrote.
Brianna graduated from the University of Queensland in 2022 with a Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts.
Joanne Saunders, whose daughter Aphra became friends with Brianna while travelling, described her as a “kind and caring friend”. Saunders said the pair had been planning a trip to Byron Bay in October and sent the family “strength, love and support”.
A vision for an environmentally friendly greenhouse
Alongside the effort to bring Brianna home, her family hopes to honour plans she had set out on a vision board for an environmentally friendly greenhouse with a solar roof.
The vision included strawberries, blackberries, grapevines and passionfruit, as well as a garden path, café, yoga studio and space for people to gather.
“Brianna had big plans,” her family wrote. Any money raised beyond the cost of returning her to Australia is intended to help realise the vision in her honour and support an organisation she cared about.
The family thanked friends, colleagues, relatives and officials in Bali and Australia for their support, and offered sympathy to others who had lost loved ones overseas.
“If you are able to donate, thank you from the bottom of our hearts,” they wrote. “If you can’t, sharing this page helps just as much.”
