Concern for Michael
My neighbours noticed the tent first.
I felt it was none of my business if someone wanted to camp in Gindang Reserve.
Two kind women found the courage to go and speak to the camper, taking him presents of food and toothpaste.
They were impressed by the young man.
He was nice looking and well-spoken and not under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
His name was Michael.
One day I was returning from a walk and I saw he was at home, so I waved to him and went over.
We chatted a bit.
He said he was aboriginal.
He said he went down to Mary Mac's for a meal and a shower and to wash his clothes, but he hadn't asked Mingaletta, the indigenous cultural centre, for help.
He thought they would turn him away.
A few days later I went down to Umina and spoke to the manager of Mingaletta.
She said she would try to help Michael get a roof over his head, but he had to come in person.
That same afternoon I went to tell him the good news, but he was not there.
The camp had been transformed: It was not just neat, but homely.
He had acquired a second tent to store his possessions.
He had placed two camping chairs and a table outside his living tent.
There were ornaments and decorative candles, and on the tree trunk was a basketball hoop.
The tarpaulin he used to keep the rain off was stretched out on the grass to dry, weighted down by rocks.
It seemed that Michael felt safe enough there to make himself comfortable, to make himself a home.
Michael didn't return that night, nor the following.
A few days later the camp was trashed, anything of obvious value carried off, including Michael's second hand bicycle.
The thieves returned a second time, this time stealing the good tent, and dragging everything in it 50 metres down the field.
His second mattress and carpet and clothing are still lying outside in the rain.
The blue tarpaulin of course was also taken.
The woman in charge at Mary Mac's couldn't remember a Michael.
Woy Woy police said they couldn't start a missing person search for a homeless man.
A nice woman at Central Coast Council gave me some phone numbers to ring if Michael ever came back.
I returned to the camp site looking for anything that could solve the enigma.
Why would Michael have worked hard at making his camp comfortable and homely if he intended to walk away?
I picked up a piece of plastic from the ground - a membership card for Ettalong Bowling Club with Michael's full name.
The Bowlo card worked magic with the police.
The constable looked in his computer and found that Michael's mother had recently reported him missing.
He was a nice young man, and we are right to mourn his unknown fate.
SOURCE:
Email, 25 Oct 2024
Jane Hendy, Blackwall