For many families, Sonya Treloar is a familiar name in local real estate. But behind the Ray White Bridgeman Downs Sales Director’s focus on people and relationships is a deeply personal experience that has shaped a much wider commitment to helping families through some of their hardest moments.
When her premature infant son Blake died at just six weeks old in 1996, Sonya recalls saying goodbye before he was taken away — but not in the way she wishes she could have.
Nearly three decades later, that experience is at the heart of her longstanding support for Hummingbird House, Queensland’s only children’s hospice, located at Chermside.
“My darling son Blake was born premature. He lived six weeks and then went to heaven,” Sonya said.
“I never had an opportunity to spend time with him at a fabulous facility like Hummingbird House.
“The day that he died, I said goodbye and they took him away. Having time to grieve, to hold them, and to be with them after they’ve passed is so important to be able to say your goodbyes properly.”
People at the Centre
As Sales Director at Ray White Bridgeman Downs, Sonya’s professional career has been built around relationships with clients and the community. She has previously said she entered real estate believing it was a profession where she could bring genuine empathy and understanding.
Her involvement with Hummingbird House has given those values another community outlet.
In the hospice’s early days, Sonya used her real estate experience to assist founders Paul and Gabrielle Quilliam with property matters as they worked to establish a permanent home for the service.
The Quilliams conceived the idea after becoming foster parents to a child with a life-limiting condition and recognising the need for a children’s hospice in Queensland.
Their campaign ultimately helped establish Hummingbird House at Wesley Mission Queensland’s Wheller Gardens site in Chermside, providing a purpose-built environment where families caring for a child with a life-limiting condition can spend time together.
Giving Families Something She Did Not Have
Hummingbird House provides specialised paediatric palliative care and support for children and young people with life-limiting conditions and their families.
Its services include short-break stays, crisis or symptom-management stays, family support, neonatal and perinatal support, allied health care, end-of-life and after-death care, and grief and bereavement support.
Importantly for Sonya, the hospice gives families time and space when a child reaches the end of their life and after their death.
It is the kind of opportunity she wishes had been available to her family when Blake died.
Turning Loss into Action
Sonya is continuing her support in 2026 through the annual Pink & Pearls for a Purpose fundraiser for Hummingbird House.
The event will be held on Friday, 25 September 2026, at Waters Edge at Portside in Hamilton, from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm.
Individual tickets are priced at $200, with tables of 10 available for $2,000.
For Sonya, the cause ultimately comes back to giving other families something she wishes her own family had been able to experience after Blake died — more time and space to say goodbye.
It is a deeply personal motivation behind a community commitment that sits alongside the relationships she has spent years building with families across Brisbane’s northside.
Published 18-Aug-2026
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