Born in Dunedin, I grew up right at the bottom of the South Island in a little country town called Riverton. I went to a Catholic boarding school for three years, which I hated every single day. When I was a child, I was very sensitive, so I found it really hard. The very first job I had when I left high school was at H&J Smith – it was like a really posh Myer in New Zealand. The customer was treated like royalty, and the customer was always right. And I think with my own magazine customers, I know how to act and what to say.
I came to Australia on a two-week holiday when I was 23. I decided to come with friends to Adelaide, intending on going back to my job in the abattoirs. Except as a joke, I applied for a job as a cleaner in a shopping mall. There was only one other applicant. I got the job and I stayed in Adelaide for nine years.
Mum had a stroke just after I was born, and as she got older, her condition got worse. She asked me to go back home. I went back about June 1994, and then she passed away January 1995. Over there at the time, the wages were so low, just shocking. It was always a struggle financially. My dad passed away in 2003, so after that I decided to come back to Australia.
I had factory work at a company called Electrolux. We made ovens. I was there about four years as a casual – they laid off heaps of people, all at the same time. As a Kiwi, because I hadn’t been here 10 years, I was not allowed any Centrelink, so no dole. I had no income, no way to pay my rent, no way to buy food. By pure chance, I met a guy that used to sell The Big Issue in Adelaide called David.
Initially it was really tough, because I was only getting like three or four sales a day until people got to know me. It got to the point where my income was stable because the customers were very loyal. I was easily able to pay my rent, go to cafes every week and often a movie, and a few other things.
I moved to Melbourne in 2017 to try and find paid full-time work. I applied for heaps of jobs, and it just didn’t pan out. I went back to selling The Big Issue. This is the only income I have. This is my rent, it’s my food, it’s my electricity, it’s my Myki card every month. It’s everything.
I’ve sold in at least 85 suburbs in Melbourne, as far north as St Andrews Market and as far south as Frankston. I really like meeting so many different people from all walks of life, and I just love the human connection. Some customers even bake yummy cakes and biscuits for me. I’m very aware that it’s my customers keeping a roof over my head.
I try and live with simplicity, with humility and gratitude, and being grateful for what I do have. And something I learned, which is very important in this job, is to treat others how you’d like them to treat you.
Gerry sells The Big Issue in Montmorency, Croyden, Eltham, and Warrandyte Market, Melbourne
Interview by Amy Hetherington
Photo by James Braund
Published in Ed#722