Book Launch: Harold Hunt – Along My Way
Along My Way (Glasshouse Books, 2016) is the autobiography of 91-year-old Harold Hunt, an Indigenous man whose extraordinary life has spanned some of the most significant developments in Aboriginal social history in this country.
Harold’s story begins in far western NSW during the Great Depression. Born in 1925 to a half-caste mother and a white father, Harold was one of ten children.
Armed with just a primary school education and much ambition, he grabbed whatever work he was offered to support his family, picking up assorted trade skills along the way, all manual labour.
By his forties, Harold had established himself as a “gun” shearer – with a wife and four children dependent on his wage. He also became a chronic alcoholic, and an abusive husband and father.
Harold’s eventual recovery from addiction not only saved his life; it forged his ambition to help others.
He worked his way into the NSW Health Commission in the early 1970s, then moved to the Justice Department, gaining respect among his colleagues as his programs proved effective in the treatment of alcohol and drug addiction.
Harold’s remarkable memory, acute observations and gentle sense of humour make his story a delight to read.
Readers are invited to join this natural-born storyteller in celebrating his life at the launch of his memoir. (ID)
Oct 15, 1pm–3pm. Drug and Alcohol Building, Nepean Hospital, Kingswood (enter Hospital via Somerset Street).
Light refreshments will be served so please RSVP to Kellie Ellis by Oct 7: kellie.ellis@health.nsw.gov.au
