Wagga pays tribute to Cassius Turvey at 'intimate' candlelight vigil

The vigil was organised by Wagga's Rachael McPhail, Jasmine Williams, Rosie Powell and Ash Pengelly as part of a countrywide movement to honour the late teen.

Cassius was allegedly bashed with a metal pole while walking home from school with friends on October 13.

He tragically passed away in hospital 10 days later.

On Saturday, Cassius' cousin Michelle Wighton and some of her family members joined a "handful" of residents at the Ngurra Hub Ashmont where memories of Cassius were shared.

Ms McPhail said while the rain kept a few people away, the event was good.

"It was nice because it was small and intimate," she said.

"Cassius' cousin Michelle Wighton came along as well as some of her family members and she had mentioned to me that she preferred that it was a handful of people because it made it feel more heartfelt.

It was really beautiful to have some of Cassius' family members there to meet with some of the local mob and feel the love from the Wagga mob and we gave them some candles that were made by a local business here as well."

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While the vigil has come and gone, there is still great work to be done and Ms McPhail is asking the community to keep a close eye on the court hearing.

"We need to keep eyes on the court hearing ... because these cases can be really dragged out. I would hope the general public keeps following the case," she said.

"If there was one message I could give to the Wagga community it would be that we all need to work together to make sure First Nations kids are safe and that they can walk home from school safely and that they can go to the shops without being racially stereotyped and judged.

"A kid [allegedly] being racially stereotyped and bashed to death for that by someone within the community that is a direct repercussion of many different things that need to be done."

Ms McPhail said one thing that can be done locally is the implementation of cultural awareness training and more youth centres for First Nations children.

"I'd love to put a call out to Wagga City Council to create more out-of-hours and weekend activities for all youth, but particularly First Nations youth in the suburbs," Ms McPhail said.

Cassius' mother Mechelle Turvey also called for the implementation of a Kids Matter program to raise awareness of bullying across schools and communities.

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