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ReConnect Bathurst:
Mike Hardie
And then we got married and I bought a pharmacy in town here. You might remember Peter Moodie - his grandfather was Percy Moodie. And I bought that pharmacy from Percy in 1965 and I stayed in that for some time.
There’s a law that states that as the Pharmacist you must be on the premises whatever the doors are open. There’s no going out for lunch, there’s no going to see visitors if they pass through.
After about seven or eight years, I felt very confined.
And always wanted to get a block of land somewhere along the line.
So that’s what we did.
The little blue Mini was part of the marriage settlement. Jan brought that with her — it was her dowry. We laugh about that.
Oh, sometimes we don’t laugh because I bought her a new one. And she didn’t want the new one, she wanted the old one. I got in such trouble.
I bought ‘PJ Moodie’s’ Pharmacy at 139 George Street and traded as Hardie’s Pharmacy’ for some years.
I sold the pharmacy and purchased ‘The Aloes’ 1200 Acres at O’Connell. We farmed full-time. Jan was happy to be back on the land and I was living my dream.
I was amazed at the number of requests I was getting for ‘locum’ pharmacy. The word got around that I was ‘farming’ not ‘pharming’ and the phone rang hot.
I only accepted locum work in country areas. I knew that it was near impossible for pharmacists in small country towns to have a break. You can’t leave the town in the hands of a young pharmacist.
Wherever I was, I would drive home at lunchtime on Saturday and be back the following night for work on Monday. We would talk each evening and discuss the day’s events.
I’m a pharmacist by profession, farmer by occupation.
I did a lot of locum work for years. I ended up in Nyngan quite a few times. Once, I needed to go there straight after the big flood out there. I got booked for speeding going through Orange because I had to get a permit from Dubbo to proceed due to the floodwaters.
They wouldn’t have had a pharmacist if I hadn’t got through, so I was pelting along pretty well.
And I got booked, for speeding and but I made a Dubbo in time to get the piece of paper which allowed me to enter into the Nygan township because it was surrounded by water.
Listen to Mike talk about the 1990 Nyngan flood:
Before settling down to working for a living full time, a friend and I set out on a four-month driving trip around Australia. We overloaded the FJ Holden with drums of fuel and set out for Perth.
That was the first mistake… it was too heavy and it warped the head! There was mud all the way to Perth, except for a strip through the towns we drove through.
A 19-hour drive across the rain-soaked Nullarbor with a shattered window exhausted us. We needed a 24-hour rest in Norseman when we finally got to the other side.
The roads were too wet, so we loaded the car at Carnarvon onto the MV Kangaroo (coastal trader) and unloaded at Wyndham to continue to trip. That’s another story.
I held a position on the Pharmacy Board.
I travelled even more with the pharmacy board. Because the state was split in half, anything that happened on the right-hand side was my problem. Anything that happened on the left-hand side, that was my mate’s problem. There were only two of us.
We looked into all of the things that can go wrong, incorrect dispensing, overdoses, complaints by the public, drunken pharmacists, it’s all there. And so my role was to interview them and take the reports to the board itself.
My job on the board was focused on the protection of the public.
This is Bambi, she’s a rescue Greyhound.
We got her from ‘Greyhounds as Pets’. We applied to get a dog and we were lucky enough to get Bambi. She wouldn’t come near me for six months. She couldn’t handle men at all.
She’s had a very rough time. She’s been mistreated and she has lots of scars. It took a long while before she’d even let me pat her. She’s fine now.
The girl from ‘Greyhounds As Pets’ went through a process with us — we got to understand how Greyhounds react, how they get very nervous. They can be uptight if they’re left for a long time by themselves. They get quite fretful. They need company and Bambi really is a great companion.
I had a session of cancer over the last couple of years. It was blood cancer and that woke me up. It’s important to enjoy everything. It was a bit of a frightening time.
As I reflect, I think I’ve achieved everything I wanted to achieve. There’s nothing down the pipeline that I want to do. I haven’t got any ideas or goals I suppose.
I’ll just keep poking along.
I’m not striving for anything anymore.
I’m quite happy with where I am.
I’ve been to three funerals in the last 10 days. It’s just ridiculous.
I think you spend the time after a funeral just trying to let the people know that you’re about to support them. It leaves you thinking.
We’ve got a chap at the moment here in town that was always a very good friend. His wife died a little while ago and he’s by himself now. He’s finding it hard.
I’m going to go before Jan because I can’t handle living without her.
I’ve got a famous saying which they all know.
Animals are a lot easier to deal with than people.
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: Mike Hardie
Next: Frank Smith
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.