mmg.com.au

Life was an adventure for little Zac Murfett.

He was cheeky. Funny. Affectionate. Up-front.

He loved sport and always had a go, even if he wasn’t great at something.

When his soccer team was warming up at a tournament at Shepparton’s McEwen Reserve on September 8, Zac leant a hand by chasing a wayward ball into the car park.

But he was hit by a car and killed.

It has been 11 days since Zac died and his parents Donna and Russell are still coming to terms with their nine-year-old son not being there.

‘‘It just feels surreal, just like he’s going to walk back in the door, ’’ Russell said yesterday at the family’s Invergordon farm.

But through the tears they were able to remember with laughter the outgoing and creative little boy who loved getting out with his brother and sister on the farm.

‘‘They’d all often go off and just play and go have an adventure on the farm, ’’ Donna said.

‘‘They’d pack a backpack and some snacks and they’d make their own binoculars out of toilet roll holders. And Zac would say, ‘Adventure is out there’.’’

He was a little boy with a big appetite who knew what he wanted — when his parents told him he couldn’t have an iPod until he was 12, he saved up and bought his own.

As a new member of Initial Stages Theatre Company, Zac was keen on the performing arts and dressing up.

He was to play the alien king in an upcoming performance.

‘‘He was doing drama this year, he was just loving that, ’’ Donna said.

‘‘He said, ‘One day I want to make movies’. I said, ‘Do you want to be an actor?’. He said, ‘No, no, no, I want to say cut’. So he wanted to be a director.’’

The Year 3 St Joseph’s Primary School Numurkah student had already made a few films with brother Ryan and sister Jasmine, 12.

‘‘He also said he wanted to buy a Mr Whippy van and travel around Australia, ’’ Donna said.

‘‘He enjoyed looking forward to things. We’re going to Queensland in November — he just wanted to ride a roller-coaster, ’’ Russell said.

Hundreds of people farewelled Zac at the Numurkah District Soccer Club rooms on Friday last week with a soundtrack of his favourite songs, which included music as varied as Savage Garden, Abba, Reece Mastin and club dance music.

‘‘We called it a party afterwards because he liked parties, ’’ Russell said.

‘‘We didn’t really have quiet music because he would have said it was boring, ’’ Donna said.

Donna and Russell said support from the community had been overwhelming.

‘‘And he would have said, the front lounge room stinks with all the flowers.’’