Article and picture: Star Observer
A gay couple killed in a tragic accident on a ride at the Gold Coast’s Dreamworld theme park were much-loved family men.
Luke Dorsett, 35, and his partner Roozbeh (Roozi) Araghi, 38, were on the Thunder River Rapids with Dorsett’s sister Kate Goodchild, 32, when a conveyor belt malfunction caused the raft they were riding in to flip.
Sydney-based woman Cindy Low, 42, was also killed on the ride.
Two children – believed to be Low’s 10-year-old son and Goodchild’s 12-year-old daughter – were thrown clear of the ride and are being treated in hospital.
The men, who had been in a relationship for at least a decade, were public servants living in Canberra and were widely loved in the city’s gay community.
Douglas Robinson, who met the couple in 2008 at Canberra’s long-standing gay club Hush, said he was shocked to hear the news.
“I’d seen the news without the names yesterday and thought it was tragic, but absolutely sick to my stomach this morning learning it was these two guys, they’re both really great people – and just another loss after Orlando is so hard,” he told Star Observer.
“Everyone who knows them loved them… I know they both really loved each other, they own a house together, they took the ACT government to court over stamp duty. They didn’t feel the need to do everything together, but were always happy when they were together.
“We have gone to concerts and theatre shows together and we’ve had them both over to our place on many occasions.”
Robinson said Araghi was a massive RuPaul’s Drag Race fan and that he had gone with him to see Adam Lambert in concert.
“They both loved good food, art, theatre, pop stars, trivia, travel and time with their family,” he said.
“They were away with Luke’s sister (Goodchild) and her kids, so I think that speaks to them as much as anything, good times with the family.”
Kim Dorsett, Luke and Kate’s mother, told The Courier-Mail that she was devastated by the loss.
“I have three children and have lost two of them today – my whole family has been wiped out,” she said.
“I have two granddaughters – an eight-month-old and a 12-year-old – and it truly breaks my heart to know that my eight-month-old is never going to get to know her mum.”
