Her sister Maureen Braddy and Maureen’s boyfriend Allan Whyte were last seen on November 23, 1968. Ms Ireland and police investigators believe the teenage couple were killed.

But 45 years to the day of their disappearance, the families are no closer to reaching a conclusive answer. Maureen, 16, and Allan, 17, have formed one of the most puzzling and prolonged cold cases in Bendigo’s history.

An inquest into their disappearance ended in March this year. The final Coroner’s report was due in May but yet another twist to the saga reopened the case to new evidence and delayed the findings until early next year.

Ms Ireland said the four-decade-long wait did not get any easier over time.

“It’s hard, it’s very hard,” she said. “It’s daunting to think it’s been so long and there's still nothing.”

Ms Ireland led the push for the case to be heard through the courts. Her testimony in 2012 about her father Stan Braddy holding a bloodied body on the night of the teens’ disappearance prompted fresh police inquiries.

The inquest resumed this year and heard her father Stan was viewed by detectives as the only suspect in the homicide investigation.

Ms Ireland said what happened to her sister still weighed heavily on her mind. She said it was hard to move on without having closure.

“No matter how happy you are in life and how much you try and get through your life, things like that just don’t go away," she said.

“You want to be able to say farewell but how can you say farewell when you don’t know?”

Allan Whyte’s brother Kevin Whyte said the 45th anniversary was yet another milestone without answers.

He said he and his wife Beverley found it hard to deal with the pain of not knowing what happened the night of the disappearance.

“It’s gone on too long,” he said. “We want justice. We just want them to be able to find the bodies and for it to be all over with.”

The investigation has taken its toll on each family.

Ms Ireland said she was glad to have struck up a relationship with Beverley and Kevin through the inquest process. 

She said the case has placed a strain on some of her own family members.

"It's taken a toll on the family but I think it's made us closer," she said.

Ms Ireland and her siblings were prompted to pursue the Coronial Inquest after discussions at their mother’s funeral. 

She said the memory of their decision to pursue legal inquiries was etched firmly in her mind. 

"We thought we need to get to the bottom of this," she said. "I just wish we had done it ages ago."

The family raised more than $2800 toward their legal costs at a recent dance fundraiser at the Bendigo RSL.

Ms Ireland said it was just the beginning.

"My old man used to say only a fool would leave a job half done, so we're going to keep going."