What’s your connection to Moorabool?
I’ve lived in Bacchus Marsh for about 10 or 11 years now after moving from Sale.
I retired and all my kids were in Melbourne, so I wanted to be closer to them.
What’s your favourite thing about living in Bacchus Marsh?
I’ve never felt sorry about the move from Sale. Bacchus Marsh is a good place – it has everything, and it’s pretty central to Geelong, Melbourne and Ballarat.
I like the community in Bacchus Marsh – there’s certainly a sense of belonging. If I compare it to Sale, where I lived for 22 or 23 years, it’s a big difference.
We’ve been accepted here; a lot of people know us and we know a lot of people.
It was definitely a good move. I don’t miss Sale at all.
Can you tell me a little bit about yourself?
I have two kids – a boy and a girl – and they’re both in their 40s, and I live at home with my wife.
My interests are woodwork, building aircraft, a bit of photography. I was an aircraft engineer before I retired.
You set up the Marsh food bus – can you tell me about that?
At that time – about three-and-a-half years ago – there was an article in the local paper about homelessness in Bacchus Marsh.
There were kids going to school without breakfast and lunch, having a sandwich for dinner, or sleeping in the car.
That prompted [me and my wife] to do something about it – I can’t give them a roof over their heads, but I can give them a meal.
We started the Marsh food bus about two years ago, and do it twice a week on Tuesday and Thursday nights.
What’s your favourite thing about volunteering?
There was a need for it in my book. After I read the article, I said ‘at least we got to do something about this’.
I cannot stop it [homelessness] of course … but, in the end, it is something that exists, and we need to try and help.
If you’re in volunteering for a thank-you, you’re in the wrong game. But I do feel fulfilled, certainly, at night.
Were you aware of how widespread homelessness was prior to reading the article?
I wasn’t. It certainly opened my eyes to a new world.
Have you always had an interest in volunteering?
We used to volunteer when we first moved to Bacchus Marsh but, due to cooking the food for the bus, we’re really busy now.
We have to draw the line at volunteering somewhere.
