National Volunteer Week 2022

One of the practices I learnt from my parents was the value of volunteering in the local community. They modeled  their belief in faith and neighbourhood in action and commitment.  My father was a life long member of the St Vincent de Paul Society in Geelong.  As well as a weekly meeting, Dad looked after the management of  Halstead Place, a hostel for rough sleepers. He also cared for the garden at our local parish Church and was a regular on the Meals on Wheels program.

My mother came from a family where commitment to school, church and community was ingrained as the way of living. As well as school Mothers Club and canteen rosters, Mum joined committees for the local parish and in later life, the management committee at her retirement village. As with many homemakers Mum also volunteered an amazing volume of cakes and goodies for fetes and fundraisers.  When our family were sorting out finances after Mum’s death we discovered her incredible generosity to causes and campaigns that worked for the common good.

I inherited much of this understanding and commitment to volunteering.  Some of my most treasured young memories are the days when my Dad would “dink me” on his bike to the hostel where he cooked and cared for rough sleepers.

On this National Volunteers Week I give thanks to those organisations that have provided me with opportunities for “Changing Communities. Changing Lives”  The change has been in my outlook and understanding of the world and how we work together to build community.

At 69 years old I look back with gratitude to the groups and communities that provided volunteering experience and life long learning for me:

• The Young ALP in Geelong
• St John’s Ambulance
• St Vincent de Paul Society
• Collingwood CYSS
• Catholics for Peace (A Melbourne based anti-war group in the 1980s)
• Palms Australia
• Friends of the ABC
• Brisbane Festival
• Annerley Community Bookshop (Now relocated at the Brisbane  Braille Centre)
• Brisbane Writers Festival
• Catholic Justice and Peace Commission Archdiocese of Brisbane
• L’Arche Brisbane
• Brisbane LGBTIQ Action Group
• Australian Catholics for Equality Advisory Board

As well as groups and associations I have been able to volunteer my services as a photographer to friends and public events as a citizen journalist. This is a role where I am able to use my images to  challenge social exclusion, prejudice and injustice.

As I begin a new era as a senior citizen I have taken up membership of advocacy groups such as   COTA for my generation.

My hope is to continue to volunteer for my community and causes that promote social change. I hope that through my volunteering at this stage of life I can mentor a new generation of awareness and commitment.

Songs Of A Lifetime

A 69th Birthday

On Monday 23 February 1953 Alex and Kath Robertson welcomed their first born child, named Anthony Gerard. There were no headlines in the world news, no posts on Facebook, just a few lines  in the Birth Notices on page 2 of the Geelong Advertiser.

I  acknowledge the land of the Wadawurrung people of the Kulin nations where I was born and pay respect to Elders, past, present and emerging.

So on this day I give thanks for my parents now deceased, my sister and brothers, cousins and relatives of several generations who nurtured, loved and challenged me.

I give thanks for the neighbours, school friends, work colleagues, travel companions, lecturers, employers, lovers and life friends who have shared the journey over 69 years

I wish a "Happy Birthday" to each of you for your celebration of the birthing day in your life. May the year ahead be a time of growth, compassion, commitment and love in so many ways for each of us.

To celebrate  the  beginning of my 70th year  I am updating  my digital biography. Yes, here in images are the highlights captured by other peoples lens. If you have an image you would like to contribute feel free to send it in for inclusion. Please feel free to add comments and your memories of these moments.

Tony, A Digital Life 

A Naked Anniversary

On March 1, 2010  Spencer Tunick carried out a series of installations titled "The Base" on the Sydney Opera House Forecourt and inside the Opera House. 

The installations were carried out as part of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras and were Tunick's first large-scale installation in Sydney, with over 5,200 participants. I was one of those 5,200 naked bodies and one of the 2,000 plus who were invited into the shoot in the Great Hall of the Opera House.

I had been to a few naturist events prior to this and was used to seeing other unclothed bodies of diverse shapes.I had played in the annual Anzac Day Nude cricket match at Belongil Beach and documented the first Brisbane Naked Bike Ride in 2007.My calendar of events always includes World Naked Gardening Day. I even have a naked patron for my Holy Irritant blog. 

After this shoot I was a feature in an exhibition at the  2012 Pride Art Show. 

My parents ensured that our childhood and home life was filled with reading ,music and clothing. I'm not sure where the DNA preference for nudity came from. My digital life collection  showcases my wardrobe and I even have a site for my Tees , called Credo Threads. 

So here I am twelve  years on from my  nude encounter with 5199 other people on a chilly morning in Sydney .I remember arriving at 4 am to register and getting my wristband which allowed me to join the select group for the indoor shoot in the Great Hall. Despite the large crowd and the fact that our clothing and personal items were left in plastic bags on parkland next to the Opera House, there was no report of theft or other disturbance.

I remember the conversations about religion, sport and politics. I remember the good humour and respect as we weaved and turned like a football crowd. I ended up close to the front row and was almost in touching distance of Grant Denyer doing a live feed for Sunrise My highlight was being in the group that were taken into the Great Hall for a shoot. As we left the space at about 9am we mingled and met staff and tourists arriving for the usual days activities.

Tunick has amazing crowd control using his ladder, a megaphone and clothed minders. The spirit of the occasion left an endearing memory of the respect, fun and  comfort of moving around with  naked people of all shapes and sizes. This is all the more amazing when you consider that we were asked to  lay on the ground, face front and back and then invited to embrace someone.

All participants received one souvenir photo of the event. Mine is framed and  acts as a great conversation starter when we have exhausted religion, politics and sport.  As you might imagine the challenge in a large group photo is identifying  yourself. Unfortunately I was absorbed into a mass of naked flesh and am still trying to find myself.

My anniversary celebration will be spent enlarging some of the pics online and searching for my nondescript  body whilst attempting not to gawk at the  surrounding awesomeness.

For those from faith traditions feeling a little awkward about nudity here's a little spiritual encouragement

Just Dates January 2022

You can access a scroll version of the calendar here

Tony Talk January 2022

Just Dates December

The scroll version is available here

Just Dates November

A scroll down version of this presentation is available here

Just Dates: October

A large scroll version is available here

Just Dates September

A large easy scroll version is available here

Supporting the Romero Centre in Brisbane

 

Making a public stance about values and beliefs can take many forms from signing petitions to acts of civil disobedience. As a photographer I have used my work to highlight issues of diversity, justice making and inclusion.

On the other side of the lens I have been happy to be photographed at public events that  promote my  values and beliefs. Knowing that these images go into the public domain I hope to inspire, influence and challenge those who follow my social media feeds.

Today I am  honoured  to have my image  feature in the currentnewsletter of the Romero Centre . I encourage you to read this publication and  support a local community project here in #Brisbane.

2021 Welcome Walk

Just dates, August

A larger read version is available here

Just Dates July

A large format slideshow is available here