I was born in Pambula in New South Wales, back in the 70s. I was the second oldest of four. I didn’t know my dad. Mum was always there for me. I used to have migraines when I was a kid – and she would kick everyone out of the house and put pillows all around me and play the Beatles, try and soothe my head a bit. Tears used to just roll out of my eyes from the pain, and that’s what got me in trouble at school a lot. They’d call me “cry baby”, bully me like that. It was hard for me to even try and read. How do I get an education with the migraines?
I was expelled from high school due to racism, and was put into a place called Kirinari, an Aboriginal boys’ hostel, at Cardiff. After I got expelled from there, I ran away from home at 13, I wasn’t getting along with my stepfather. I was living on the streets at a very young age.
I lost Mum when she was 42, with cancer. I was 20. Mum was the best, she did anything to make ends meet. We would pick oranges and grapes and peas, and sometimes we would do a bit of work for the stepfather – he was a concreter. I had jobs on and off: hospitality; worked on a fishing boat; furniture removal; and I started doing my Bachelor of Visual Arts at Deakin in Geelong in the 2000s. But living out of a vehicle and having no stability didn’t help.
I started at The Big Issue in South Australia 22 years ago, maybe longer. I’ve sold in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and now Sydney. People’s generosity has always been good with The Big Issue. I like telling the story of when I started. I was sitting in the alleyway and there was a lady who had a small business, a shop, and I’d only sold five magazines and I started getting upset. I was very hungry and had nowhere to live. So she took me to the pub, bought me a counter meal, gave me $30 and bought me a beer. She opened doors for me again. I didn’t feel like I had anyone or anything. It’s that kindness of people – I’ve stuck with The Big Issue since, I enjoy it. I’ve found it hard to hold a job, and I can start and stop when I want with The Big Issue. I’m my own boss.
Life’s starting to get better. I’ve only just got my own place, in Glebe, coming up to six months. It’s just getting used to having somewhere after all the years of living in a vehicle or on the street. It’s getting that stability underneath me again.
I’ve run into my son again, and I’m getting to see the grandchildren. It’s been very good for me. It’s picked me up a bit in the heart area. It’s been a long haul. I have another son who’s in Campbelltown. My youngest, when he was 28, he died by suicide. He was an artist, did a lot of poetry and writing, and some theatre work in Newtown. He was so talented.
I play guitar. I like a bit of flamenco and Spanish sort of stuff, a bit of classical, and every now and then I listen to a bit of heavy metal, I like a bit of AC/DC. I just bought a Suzuki guitar off Facebook. It cost me $50. It’s small, but it will loosen up the fingers again. I’m a never-give-up sort of person.
Adam sells The Big Issue on Pitt St Mall, Sydney
Interview by Amy Hetherington
Photo by Michael Quelch
First Published in Ed#728