practical living
Dawes with Sydney Swans forward Kurt Tippett.
(Below): Dawes and Brophy at the SCG. Photo: Sydney Swans
Returning to Matthew Talbot Hostel brought
a surge of emotions for Dawes.
DOWN MEMORY LANE
Longtime AFL fan Barry Dawes hasn’t been back to
Sydney in almost two decades. He lives in the heart of
Collinwood Magpies country in Melbourne. Upon his return
to his hometown, he spoke with Aged Care Insite about
the experience.
ACI: What is it like being back in Sydney?
BD: It’s a bit of a turn up, actually. It’s a pleasure to be back
here because I’ve got a lot of memories coming back here,
a lot of old memories.
Why was it important to you to come back here and
visit some familiar sites?
The day before the match, the two travellers are up at 4.30am
for the trip to Melbourne Airport and then the flight to Sydney.
On the train into the city, Dawes looks out the window, recalling
CBD landmarks where he once slept rough.
As they walk through the Cross, Dawes notes how gentrified
the area has become. “That used to be a pub, that used to be a
takeaway shop; now they are all cafes and restaurants,” he says.
Dawes leads us on a serpentine trail through East Sydney,
confident he can take us back to the Talbot Hostel of his past
life. We are sceptical and at several points reach for Google
Maps, but eventually Dawes’ atavistic sense of space clicks and
we are back at the front gate of the hostel. Management at the
facility allow us to enter so Dawes can revisit his old stomping
ground. Tired from his walk and perhaps overcome with
emotion, Dawes takes a rest.
The next day, Dawes and Brophy head to the Sydney Cricket
Ground to watch the Swans play Port Adelaide. The weather is
inclement and the match is one-sided – the Swans lead 41-0
at the first change – but neither dampens the mood. Dawes
is invited to view the match in a private function centre with
all the trimmings. Watching the game from the expensive
seats, with a nourishing lunchtime spread and a photo with
Swans forward Kurt Tippett is a world away from Dawes’ last
weekend in the city.
These experiences make Brophy wistful. Of course, he
cannot turn back the clock for the great majority of the socially
disadvantaged residents at Sambell Lodge, but he can for some.
“When we work in residential aged care, we see people at the
latter stages of a life we cannot revisit,” he says. “If only we had a
rewind on the recorder to have a look at their previous life. Now,
with Barry, through this actual experience, I’m revisiting some of
his extraordinary history. It’s been an amazing experience.” ■
Just to visit the old place where you used to be and to see
how many changes there’ve been. See what’s new and what
is going on, and everything else. Pretty important.
What were some of the sites that were high on your
wish list? Why did you want to visit the Matthew Talbot,
for example?
I used to be homeless so I used to live there, at Matthew
Talbot. I used to get my meals there every day. I used to
get all my clothing and everything there. It was a very
important thing.
What are some of your memories of living in Sydney,
and has much changed?
It’s changed heaps. There were a lot of old pubs and
they’re not here, and there are a lot of new restaurants that
weren’t there before. It’s all new now. There used to be
takeaway shops along the other side of that street. Used
to be takeaway shops there but now there are none; it’s all
restaurants and everything else.
What does it mean to you that Paul Brophy listened
to your request and hit the ground running to organise
your trip?
Paul does a pretty good job actually – he listens to what I
say – that’s the main thing.
From what you’ve seen of Sydney so far, has it brought
back a lot of memories?
Oh yes, definitely has brought a lot of memories back. It’s all
changed in all those years. The last time I was here and I sat
on the seat of that bus stop, I was 15.
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