Approximately 300 mourners were told of the inseparable bond between Noelene, 54, and 14-year-old Yvana, who died in mysterious circumstances shortly after arriving for a holiday on the Indonesian island on January 4.
Family and friends paid tribute to the mother and daughter, who were remembered as horse lovers with an appetite for exploring the world together.
Noelene’s colleague and friend Linda King said the sudden deaths of the pair had come as a shock to their family and friends, and the wider community of Gatton in the Lockyer Valley.
“We should know that bad things happen to good people, but we are surprised,” Ms King told mourners at the service at the Gatton Baptist Church earlier today.
“If they had a choice they would’ve gone together. There was always the twosome.”
Kevin Bowe remembered his beloved sister-in-law and niece, and said: “You will never be forgotten”.
Noelene and Yvana had become violently ill after eating at a restaurant less than 24 hours after checking into their beachside resort, and there has been speculation that toxic fish may have led to their deaths.
A memorial service was held where Noelene and Yvana lived on the Sunshine Coast earlier this month before their bodies had been released by the Balinese authorities. Their bodies were finally returned to Australia last week.
The Queensland coroner has completed autopsies on their bodies, but the results will not be known until next week.
Noelene and Yvana will be laid to rest later today at the Gatton cemetery alongside the grave of Noelene’s father Don Bischoff.
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