Cora Kazmirowicz, 21, a fashion designer, had come to the aid of the boy, who was being teased by other children at Fish Ponds, Berowra Valley Regional Park, on Sunday.

Her shattered parents Joanna and Valdemar said their big-hearted daughter was as adventurous as she was artistic.

"That is how she died, saving a child who was afraid. She wanted to help the child and encourage him -- she couldn't stand him being teased." Mrs Kazmirowicz said.

When Cora was not studying fashion or designing for a Sydney costume house, she was training with the army reserves -- scuba diving, kayaking, canoeing or trekking the familiar stretch of bush between her home and Fish Ponds.

Her family had walked from their Hornsby home to the waterhole hundreds of times over the past 10 years. They never expected they would hike there at 3am -- to where Cora's body lay. She died at 4pm on Sunday but a helicopter could not airlift her out until 6.30am yesterday.

"We lay under the stars and waited until the helicopter came down into the canyon," Mrs Kazmirowicz said.

Mrs Kazmirowicz said her death was a tragic waste.

"I am just privileged to have known her for 21 years," she said.

Hornsby Girls High School principal Robert Phillips said Cora, an outstanding student and "perfectionist", topped the state in Polish and was eighth in NSW in textiles and design in 2003.

She was inspired by her ancestry -- traditional Polish costume -- and with a HSC of 98, she went on to study fashion at the University of Sydney.

Cora spoke Polish and lived in Poland as a child.

But Mrs Kazmirowicz said: "She was born in Australia, died in Australia and was every bit a proud Australian."

Her family want warning signs, fences or a barrier erected at the rock.

"Our daughter died in a beautiful place. I don't know if she was the first to die there but I do not think it should be allowed to happen again," her father Valdemar Kazmirowicz said.