Central Coast Feature
“I’m trying to get my drivers license again, that’s one of my big goals,” says Rod. “I’ve got my learners now!”
Flying his flag “I
’ve lived in Wyong for just over 8 years now. I grew up in Wagga but I wasn’t born there. I was born in Port Kembla. My mother and father worked in Lithgow for a while too and I love it. Lithgow is the bomb!
mechanic school. I’ve also done building, paving and was a stable hand down in Wagga.
My mum passed away, God love her, and my family said “look we’re up here on the Central Coast. Why don't you move up here and then we'll help My grandfather was driving from you with some family support”. So Sydney to Lithgow, I was in the back I decided to move up here to where seat as a three year old without a seat my sister and nieces and nephews are. belt. When he hit the brakes I went They’ve helped me out a lot. And I flying from the back seat straight through the windscreen and hit a brick mean a lot. My biggest challenge for me has been losing my mum. Some wall. I survived but of course I don’t people say it takes five years to get over remember anything. The doctor’s and something like that but no, it doesn’t. my family told me about it years after it happened. The accident caused me I was introduced to the Men’s Shed up to become an epileptic and I used to here, which was good, but that finished have grand mal seizures. Now I take about two years ago. medication and since I’ve been on the I’ve also joined up with Yerin meds I haven’t had one fit at all. (Aboriginal Health Services) and got I started school at year seven. I first to know them really well. They have had to repeat literacy and numeracy another men’s group who meet every class and so I went and I went and fortnight. We get together and see improved on those two subjects what has to be done, and then we do it. because I knew I wasn’t any good at it. I thought to myself “swing it round”, From then I’ve just been taking and so I did. life every day as it comes. Every I went through to year ten. I went from year 10 to the TAFE college across the road from the school, and just started doing course, after course after course after course, non-stop. I did chef ’s assistant, cooks assistant, welding, computers, car detailing, spray painting, panel beating, and
challenge that comes at me I say “There’s got to be a way to get through and deal with this. Let’s try it. Let’s do it.”
While living on the Central Coast Headstart said that they could help me besides my family, and so I thought NewsLink March 2021 I Page 4
“ok, good”. They’re helping me to achieve the goals I’ve set, like get my money back into budget, make sure I don’t overspend, get myself towards getting my license. I tell you Rachael (my support worker) is a Godsend! She really is. My father was Aboriginal, my mother wasn’t. I’m 99.9% Aboriginal and I’m proud to know that I’ve got that in me.
I get furniture restored and paint it with Aboriginal colours. I’ve got a real big coffee table here which I did about three years ago, I’ve also done some other chairs and then a bedside table that I did in Aboriginal colours just a couple of days ago. I just do the Aboriginal flag because I’m very proud of my culture. I used to do swimming some time ago but when I lost mum I stopped. But now I’m getting back into it. I’m doing things that mum would be proud of so I might was well get on and do it! Our Headstart group has been out a bit lately. Swimming felt as though I was getting my strength back in my arms and legs and I loved it. The bowling though I was a bit shaky at first but I’m getting the hang of that again. We’ve also done archery and that went great the second time. I’m just getting a lot better. I went the first time in October and I was a bit all over the place then.
