I grew up in a small country town: Temora, in New South Wales. My mum didn’t want me, I’ve had nothing to do with her after she gave me up. So I was raised by my grandparents, and they spoiled me rotten! They bought me a pony named Fruitbox.
As a kid I was outgoing, I loved playing sports. I played rugby league until I was about 18, and then rugby union for a while. I didn’t do well at school. They’d tease you a lot, and so I left when I was about 15-and-a-half. My grandfather had a hobby farm and my uncle had a stud farm that had trucks, semis and other stuff. It was tough, but I liked working there much more than going to school. I’ve always loved animals, and nowadays I have a staffy dog Evie, a rabbit called Thumper, and a guinea pig called Ruby.
When I turned 18, I moved out of home. I was on my own in Griffith. Then I found out that Pop got sick. I went back home for a while and worked at a winery, until Pop said: “Well, why don’t you start travelling around a bit?” I started working for a travelling show. That was hard work for about two years. I liked meeting new people and travelling, but I have back injuries from that time, too.
My grandfather had cancer, and Nan had it, too. She died first, and then Pop passed away. I was alone, and went to live on the streets in Sydney for about two or three months. I lived in a tent in Goulburn and would travel to Sydney every day on the train to get money or sometimes food. I used to sit there begging.
Meeting my wife Kim changed everything. We met in Central Station. I was so sure she would say no when I asked her out – now we’ve been married for 13 years. We’ve moved around a lot, trying to go where we can get housing. The waitlist for housing can take ages: about four years for Sydney, three years for Goulburn, five years for Wagga, and six years for Griffith. It was in Wagga that we had Meka, our daughter. We came to Canberra to support Kim’s mum.
It took us ages to have a baby, and I was pretty happy when I found out we were having a little girl. Meka is like a mix of Kim and me: she is outgoing like I used to be. She’s 10 years old now, and won a prize from the school principal – she’s very bright.
I heard about The Big Issue through my mum-in-law, she used to do it in Adelaide and got Kim and me to all do it together. We are not competitive when we are on our pitches: sometimes I send customers down to her. We kinda work together.
The Big Issue has been a big help to make some money for school clothes and books for Meka. I save up the money I earn to use for Christmas, and for Meka’s birthday party: we’re taking her to a trampoline place to celebrate.
I don’t think I’ll ever stop selling The Big Issue. I like talking to people, like the lady who collects each issue into a big folder, or the guy that comes by on a bike every week. I’d like my customers to know that they’re really supporting me.
Shane sells The Big Issue at the Dickson Shops, Canberra
Interview by Eliza Janssen
Photo by Long Nguyen
Published in ed#732