(The toy man at the markets)
What is your Favourite toy ? …“ The ones I used to make myself! I made wooden toys for a living, model trains, trucks and cars.”
As a child what was your favourite toy? …. “I didn’t have any. I’m serious, poor as a church mouse.”
So what did you play with?….. “Guess what!…hahaha….No we didn’t have any at all up until I was about 12 I think. So that’s maybe why I got into toy making as an adult.”
Where did you grow up? …. “Back streets of Fitzroy, rough neighbourhood, sort of like Kings Cross but way worse back then and my parents were mongrels anyway”
Oh I’m sorry., are they gone now? ….”Oh thank God, yes! They were cruel, inhuman. There was seven of us and we all copped it. Physical, mental and sexual abuse mainly from him. He was a dog! People don’t believe some of the things I say that happened. I hope to God it never happens to anyone else but I’m sure it has.
And you’ve carried that your whole life?…. Oh Shit yeah! We’re all mad, we’re all on anti depressants, everyone of us. It’s a wonder we didn’t all turn out to be offenders, but we didn’t.
So do you remember anytime in your childhood that was happy?…..” No! I spent 4 years in boys homes. We were wards of the state. We were all taken off our parents because they were doing such a shit job, until I was 14 and I came out and went to work straight away. I have five kids of my own now and the eldest is 48. They used to whinge that they don’t have this or that, don’t have a pair of Nikes and I never even had any shoes..you know we had no water, no electricity, we squatted most of the time.”