Royal Life Saving Society statistics show in 2018/19, 19 children aged four or younger died in a swimming pool.Īndrew likens pool safety to having your car serviced – you make sure everything is in good shape and is maintained in order to stay safe. “You can never, ever be certain that things won’t happen to you because sometimes, bad things do happen to good people,” he said. Andrew says adult supervision and having a fully compliant pool both play a massive part in keeping children safe. “The pain hasn’t eased one iota, but I like to believe that we’re doing something positive in Hannah’s name and making a real difference,” Andrew said.īut pool safety doesn’t stop at just having a fence. They advocate for drowning prevention and offer support to families who are currently dealing with or have dealt with a similar tragedy. Image suplied by Andrew Plint.Īndrew and Katherine created Hannah’s Foundation in memory of their daughter and to raise awareness of child drowning. Hannah’s cheeky grin and personality will never be forgotten. “I love her dearly and have missed her for the past 12 years.” Hannah’s story was one of many used during the parliamentary hearing.Īndrew said he hasn’t stopped thinking about his daughter every minute, of every day. In 2010, new pool safety regulations were passed in Queensland in a measure to prevent any more child deaths in pools. “When we didn’t hear anything back, we assumed everything was OK, but what we discovered after her death was that the pool, the pool fence and decking never had any council approval.” “We had only purchased the house 12-months prior with one of our conditions of contract being that all structures on the property were compliant. “Hannah had drowned in what was a non-compliant pool,” Andrew said. She was two months short of her third birthday when her life tragically ended. The Plint’s neighbours remember hearing Katherine shout the words, “breathe Hannah, breathe,” before the young girl was rushed to hospital. Two minutes for Hannah to find her way from Katherine, who was changing her baby brother’s nappy, to the backyard, where she dragged a plastic chair over to the pool, climbed it and unlocked the fence. Looking back on that spring afternoon in 2007 at their Laidley home, no one expected Hannah’s craving for adventure would end in her mother, Katherine, screaming out her name. Known to use chairs to reach high places, the Thomas the Tank Engine fan was often described as adventurous by anyone who met her. With the ability to recite the alphabet, count to 50 and write her name at 15 months of age, nothing was too challenging for the young genius who dreamed of one day becoming a ‘baby doctor’. Image supplied by Andrew Plint.Ī curious personality and cheeky grin, Hannah Plint was a star in her parents’ eyes.

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