In the shockwave that followed the 2002 Bali bombings, Geelong parents Graeme and Raye Lee were forced to deal with an unthinkable loss. Their sons Aaron (33) and Justin (31) and daughter-in-law Stacey Lee (30, nee Thornburgh) were among the 202 people killed. In the heavy silence that followed, the Lees resolved that their children’s names would move forward tethered to hope, not horror.
That promise took shape in the form of the Ba-Lee Lodges, five self-contained units only metres from the Andrew Love Cancer Centre at University Hospital Geelong. Funded largely through the family’s memorial gift and named to fuse “Bali” with “Lee,” the lodges have, for almost two decades, offered regional cancer patients and their loved ones a warm, minimal cost home base during lengthy treatment courses. What could have stood as a monument to terror has instead become a sanctuary of care for nearly 1,600 patient-nights each year. Each stay means a family can focus on treatment, not travel, saving both money and precious emotional energy during challenging times.
Today that legacy is kept thriving through generous supporters and national fundraising challenge Dry July.
Every July thousands of Australians go alcohol-free each July to raise funds for people affected by cancer. The dollars raised by local participants is directed into Barwon Health’s cancer services, enabling enhances to the Andrew Love Cancer Centre, equipment, services and, crucially, the upkeep of the Ba-Lee Lodges so every family who needs them finds them fresh, welcoming and free.
An unlikely modern custodian of the Lees’ vision is Geelong football great Billy Brownless. For the past five years Billy has captained the Andrew Love Cancer Centre’s Dry July team, helping raise more than $342,000 for local cancer services. Each year his humour, heart and hometown profile rally hundreds of supporters to take the pledge with him and join his Dry July team. His team has even taken out the title of number one Dry July fundraising team across Australia for the past four consecutive years and in 2024 he’s hoping to make it five.
“My beautiful mum lost her life to cancer,” he says. “This is something really close to my heart. I want to give back – and I know this community can help me do it once again.”
Funds from Dry July have already put transport vehicles on the road so Greater Geelong patients can reach treatment safely, and supported cancer wellness therapies, including art classes and yoga. These funds have also enabled the renovation of the lodges, so distance never stands between country families and world-class care.
Every key turned in a Ba-Lee door is a quiet act of remembrance, proving a single family’s darkest day can light the path toward healing for countless others.
Legacy is not only what we leave behind, it is what we build while we are here.
The Lees began theirs with courage; Billy Brownless amplifies it with camaraderie; and every person who signs up for Dry July adds their own brick to a structure that keeps families together when life suddenly turns cruel.
Join Billy’s team or donate here. Start writing your legacy today.
Zoe Waters
Executive Director
Barwon Health Foundation
