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ReConnect Bathurst:
Gus Gorton
I got three-quarters of an acre in town. A lot of the problem was I had chooks as well as ducks when I left the property. Out there we had 200 acres to deal with it.
I bought a place in town and I rang council. I asked, “how many chooks can I keep?” He said, “if you’ve got roosters, none. If you’ve got one and you get a complaint you’ve got 24 hours to get rid of it”.
So I asked how many ducks can you have? They said “as many as you like as long as you haven’t got 100 birds. Then you have to put some sort of return in.
So I’ve got ducks.
I’ve got a little dog, a Chihuahua. His name is Boof.
When I got him, I didn’t want another dog. I had just lost my Border Collie. It was 14 years old. I went to my mate's place and he said “do you want a dog, Gus?”
“No, I don’t want a dog.”
I’d go there and he would jump up on my knee.
Eventually, I brought him home.
I don’t think I’d know what to do without him now. Because I live on my own.
He’s a good companion.
He wants to go everywhere with you.
Well I’ve virtually lived by myself for the past 25 years.
I’ve lived on my own plus I’ve worked on my own. Sometimes I would have been lucky to have seen someone at work.
Does that get lonely?
No, it doesn’t worry me, I’ve mostly been on my own.
You get used to it.
You get used to your own company.
I’m probably not great with crowds.
Keeping ducks keeps me busy.
It’s something to do, otherwise, I might mow the lawn once a fortnight and sit inside and watch TV.
It keeps you outside and it keeps you active.
Last year, I cut the numbers down a lot. I was getting eight or nine dozen eggs a week.
People don’t seem to like duck eggs as much as chicken eggs though.
Bathurst & District Poultry Club Auction, August 2022
Gus has lost a large number of birds to the Eastern Quoll. Listen to Gus speak about how this has impacted his duck breeding:
I’ve worked physically hard my whole life.
I worked up until I was 68.
The only work I had left to do there was fencing, which is really hard work.
Do you think kids these days can work like you did?
I think most of them get life too easy.
Well a lot of them don’t do any work before they leave school. I left school at 16 and I worked for my father who was a landscape gardener. We had to go out in the bush with him and pick up rocks all day long.
My father didn’t believe in holidays.
We didn’t have time to run around the streets like kids do now. They seem to be out all hours of the night and day.
And at night, he comes in.
He’s got to sit in the chair with me.
And then, when I go to bed he comes in and gets in the bed.
I don’t need a hot water bottle with him.
He gets right underneath.
I used to walk about five kilometres every morning and then when I did my back in.
I couldn’t walk to the mailbox.
It just meant that my body wouldn’t do what I wanted it to do. It’s mentally tough when your body lets you down like that.
Was it a hard process moving off the land and into town?
No, it wasn’t because one of the reasons it wasn’t a hard process to do is because this is not a small block — it’s three-quarters of an acre.
It doesn’t feel like town. I don’t have four houses ‘round me, I’m not locked in.
I’ve got the ducks here and I used to breed Shetland ponies and I brought one of the ponies with me.
It’s the last pony I had. He was Junior Champion Coloured Pony in Sydney Royal.
I used to breed pigeons but I ended up with too many of them.
Do they breed like rabbits?
They breed like flies. I started with half a dozen and ended up with 500. Once the youngins have left the nest they go straight back to nesting again.
And a few years ago when I was breeding them and I was breeding meat ones. I bred 40 young ones for the year. And when I was sexing them up, I found 40 cock birds! They all had to go.
My sister was getting married and I said “do you want something for your wedding?”
“Oh, did they release some pigeons?”
No, she made pigeon pies.
Listen to Gus talk about breeding ducks and his thoughts on his future:
Keeping ducks keeps me busy.
It’s something to do, otherwise, I might mow the lawn once a fortnight and sit inside and watch TV. It keeps you active.
This project is proudly funded through the State Government’s Local Government Social Cohesion Grant Program. ReConnect Bathurst is an And Then project delivered in partnership with Bathurst Regional Art Gallery.
Current: Gus Gorton
Next: Lonnie Edwards
Uncle Bill Allen
Bev Cooney
Cheryl O’Brien
June Paton
Gus Gorton
Lonnie Edwards
Yvonne Morgan
Enn Muller
Jan Sheppard
Edgar Coello
Aunty Shirley Scott and Aunty Sandra Peckham
Mike Hardie
Frank Smith
Clive Brabham
Eddy Suttor
RECONNECT BATHURST PARTICIPANTS’ INDIVIDUAL STORYBANKS
PROJECT INFORMATION
WHEN
April – November 2022
WHERE
Bathurst, NSW
WHY
We believe that stories matter and that stories like those shared here hold power and significance.
The vision of the project is to use photo-storytelling and cultural preservation practices to develop social and creative connections and experiences with older people from the Bathurst area. This project celebrates the participants' lived experiences while encouraging dialogue around ageing, isolation and ageism.
Social-arts projects like this are important as they transform public spaces and help to build a sense of community. It’s been wonderful to reimagine Pedrottas Lane in Bathurst and to create an online representation of the physical exhibition with a project made with the community, for the community.
WHO
We were honoured to be invited by Bathurst Regional Art Gallery to create and facilitate ReConnect Bathurst.
16 older people from the Bathurst area. Many of the participants were nominated by local community organisations while others serendipitously came to be a part of the project. We’d like to thank The Bathurst Aboriginal Land Council, The Wiradjuri and Community Aboriginal Elders, The Neighbourhood Center, Bathurst Business Chamber, The Woodies, Bathurst RSL Sub Branch and the Country Women’s Association.
With special thanks to Dinawan Dyirribang (Uncle Bill Allen), Bev Cooney, Cheryl O’Brien, June Paton, Gus Gorton, Lonnie Edwards, Yvonne Morgan, Enn Muller, Frank Smith, Jan Shepard, Edgar Coello, Aunty Shirley Scott, Aunty Sandra Peckham, Mike Hardie, Clive Brabham and Eddy Suttor.
HOW
Our stories are a wonderful connection point. It’s through sharing them with each other that we make space for conversations that can inspire, that can expand our understanding and in some cases, leave us changed.
During this project, we spent time with each person, we talked, reflected on old photographs, made images together and worked through various ways of co-authoring. Socially-engaged practice empowers participants to participate in the creation of their stories, allowing them to represent themselves in the way that they choose.
We often leave a camera with participants and invite them to engage in their own image-making. There’s something raw and revealing about the images made this way, about seeing the world through the participants' eyes.
AND THEN
Through their stories, we see facets of vast lives lived. We witness the snapshots and threads that when woven together create a rich tapestry. Our hope is that as stories wash over us we’re able to make space to contemplate connection and the beauty of community.
This project is proudly funded through the State Government’s Local Government Social Cohesion Grant Program. ReConnect Bathurst is an And Then project delivered in partnership with Bathurst Regional Art Gallery.