IT did not rain, but the dark clouds that hung heavily over Dunnstown enveloped the small community in gloom.
It was April 29, 1996, the day after a lone gunman had killed 35 people at Port Arthur in Tasmania in the largest mass murder in Australian history.
Among the dead were two of Dunnstown's most loved and respected residents, Merv and Mary Howard. The couple, who had been enjoying a well-earned holiday in Tasmania, were in the Broad Arrow Cafe at Port Arthur when
29-year-old Martin Bryant entered with an AR-15 assault rifle and killed 22 people and wounded a dozen more in a murderous five-minute spree.
In Dunnstown, close friends and family struggled to comprehend the senseless tragedy.
"It is devastating; we still don't want to believe it," family friend Ray Murphy said at the time.
"People here are gathering around each other. It's terrible to see how it has affected some - and they are strong people too."
The darkness of the day was overwhelming.
But, in time, the clouds lifted.
Today, exactly 10 years after the horror of the Port Arthur massacre, members of the tight-knit community will privately reflect on two wonderful lives lost.
"I don't think the members of this community really wish to contemplate too much on the tragic outcomes of that time," Mr Murphy said. "While we still remember our friends and the tragic and senseless loss of life, I guess 10
years has healed a lot of the inner feelings we may have held.
"As a community, we have all moved on."
Merv and Mary Howard rarely travelled. In fact, the couple - both aged in their mid 50s - had never been off the Australian mainland before their four-day holiday to Tasmania. The two worked for Telstra and enjoyed life on
their small farm in Dunnstown.
Mr Howard served at various times as secretary and treasurer of the Ballarat Football League in the 1970s and '80s and was a life member. He was also a life member of the Victorian Country Football League Ballarat branch,
which he had served since 1961.
The couple were described as "pillars of the church" by those who knew them and had strong ties to Ballarat, Dunnstown and Bungaree, where Mary grew up.
"As a community we still feel the devastating loss of two of the most genuine community-minded people you could ever meet," Dunnstown resident Basil Britt said.
"Their involvement in all aspects of life in such a small, tight-knit community is still missed after 10 years."
The esteem in which the Howards were held was reflected in their funeral service at St Patrick's Cathedral on Monday, May 6, 1996.
Still described as one of the biggest funerals in Ballarat's history, an estimated 2000 mourners turned out to pay their respects. About 1400 crowded into the cathedral, while a further 600 stood outside St Patrick's Hall on a wet
autumn day to listen to the broadcast.
The chief celebrant was Fr Justin Woodford, who was the parish priest of Bungaree, to which the Howard family belonged.
"It was the most traumatising experience of my life," Fr Woodward said. "You had to support their children who were absolutely devastated and their whole family living in disbelief.
"It was doubly difficult for me because they were personal friends. She (Mary) came to me on the Friday with a gift to say goodbye and on the Sunday she was dead."
Fr Woodward, who is now retired, said it was difficult to ever get over a tragedy like the Port Arthur massacre.
"Prayer is our only hope and death is not the end we believe," he said. "The service was a celebration of their lives and to give thanks to God for two beautiful people who left an impression on hearts that will never be taken away."
In the months that followed the massacre, a memorial was erected outside the Dunnstown church in recognition of the couple who had contributed so much to their community.
The memorial, which includes a dedicated garden with a white rose planted for every victim, was officially blessed by then Archbishop of Melbourne George Pell, on December 14, 1997.
"The memorial reflects something of the respect that these two wonderful people were held," Mr Murphy said.
The Howard family declined an interview on the 10th anniversary of the Port Arthur tragedy, but agreed to The Courier publishing a story which reflected on the lives of Merv and Mary.
Some family members have travelled to Port Arthur where a special service will be held today.
There will be no memorial service in Dunnstown. Instead, community members will be able to privately pay their respects.
"It's tremendously gratifying for all just how much the members of the Howard family have moved on in establishing their own families and making such a success of life in general," Mr Murphy said.
Fellow Dunnstown resident Richard Glenane agreed.
"The memorial was sad to put up, but it was also very gratifying as it has been a place that recognises these two wonderful people and what they meant to the community," Mr Glenane said. "It is a place for the residents to come
and reflect."
Ten years ago, the callous acts of a mass murderer devastated a loving family and the small community they called home.
Together, they faced the miserable skies and contemplated the bleak outlook.
But the darkness didn't set in.