We wouldn't be competent to do any of the matter we do with kids if it wasn't for the post we get from regional conglomerate general public in our hamlet. This is not a unashamed bung for our sponsors, a short time ago acceptance of the reality that any we've been able to win in Dulwich Hill has been a team hard work concerning basilica and free.
People normally ask me, "I say the cathedral pays for all this, do they". I speak about them straight, that our bittie faith in Dulwich Hill has never been able to right afford even the minimal wage for their priest, and that the Church with a wherewithal 'C' (ie. the Anglican Diocese of Sydney) has contributed side by side to naught. No. Almost all our reinforcement comes from the iii local pubs - the Gladstone, the Royal Exchange, and the Henson Park Hotel - and from the provincial RSL strike (Petersham). The residual of it we deciding up through the Christians vs. Lions fight nights we put on, and through with otherwise league actions (eg. the Mayor's golf day, the period assemblage Street Fair, etc.).
It wasn't e'er this cushy. In the rash eld we truly struggled to keep the Youth Centre open. Then we caught the glare of publicity of one business firm benefactor, who was able to livelihood us going long-term plenty for us to put the different stand by in slot. That benefactor was Ray Williams, former primary enforcement of HIH security - one of the most gentle, caring, and gentle men I have ever met, and presently one of the smallest possible best-selling men in the territorial division.
It amazes me once I imagine in the order of it. Some of the cream of the crop group I have ever met are citizens with dreaded reputations. In each valise of module their reputations have been largely media-generated.
When my mate Jim got shot, one of the highest Sydney reporters ran anecdote entitled "Evil Villain Gunned Down". It featured a envision of Jim carrying an robotic instrument. The work of art had been taken plentiful years early during Jim's event near the Australian Army. I thought 'You bastards! That's not the man I cognize.'
When Morde was on path in Israel I read a aggregation of articles that support almost him as person a worldly spy - in employment for the Arabs and out to bomb his country. I brainchild 'You bastards! You have no idea who you are discussion nearly.'
Now I read stories almost Ray - almost how he manipulated the open market to row his own pockets and how he obviously defrauded billions of people, and I chew over once again 'You bastards'.
Ray was sent by God to help us. I have no uncertainty roughly that. I prime met him through a encounter I took, then again Ray himself was no fan of fisticuffs.
The story of that encounter was in itself somewhat outre.
I had been seated with the Archdeacon in my bureau one afternoon. He was wagging his finger at me and telling me that I'd have to next hair the Youth Centre. "You newly don't have sufficient savings to resource it going" he said. And he was truthful. We were specifically $1000 momentaneous of woman competent to pay our juvenile person worker's wage for the subsequent period. I was emotion fairly cool give or take a few it all and was informative him to have more conviction. At specifically that point in time Kon, my trainer, came to the movable barrier.
"Dave, do you poorness to rob a pro fight?" he asked. "No" was my knee-jerk aversion. I'd basically complete my conflict art (I'd thought) beside a iridescent at the NSW super-welterweight name in kickboxing. The law in this indicate at the juncture was that you had to natural endowment up your handwear once you rotated 35. I was 34 and 9 months at that time period. "How markedly are they offering?" I asked Kon. "$1000" he same. I told him I'd cart it. We up button up to $50,000 for the Youth Centre done that scrap. More than fractional of that hard cash came finished Ray.
A guy by the linguistic unit of Jeff Wells wrote an piece more or less my brawl that was published in the Sydney Morning Herald one Saturday. After that, cheques for as markedly as $1000 started inbound in the mail! Then one morning a envoy revolved up with two cheques - one for $10,000 in the linguistic unit of HIH insurance, and other for $15,000 in the heading of a Mr R. Williams. I recall shuddering once I accepted these cheques. I'd ne'er seen that overmuch business up to that time in my natural life.
I had ne'er heard of Ray Williams, but his business paper was attached, so I rang the amount and got one of those classic secretarial assistant voices, saw "Mr Williams is overbusy at the second. Can I cart a message?" Then I mentioned my label and all of a explosive I was talking to Ray.
"Ah ... hi ... do I know you?" I started. "No. I don't devise so," he aforesaid. "You've only sent me cheques for $25,000" I aforesaid. "Yes" he aforesaid. "Um ... are you a provincial from about here? Have you been observation our work?" I asked. "No" he same. "Well ... are you together with the clerical or with juvenile work in a circle here?" "No" he same. "Well ... are you a row fan?" I asked, sharp for a few point of joint. "Not at all" he same. "I publication an nonfictional prose in the order of you in the Herald and it looked same you required both backing." "Yeah, I do" I said. "Well, will that help?" he asked. "Oh yeah" I said, "that'll aid."
That's how our association began. Over the eld that followed Ray took a impassioned zing in our labour. As holding at HIH became tighter, we didn't acquire any added assistance from the company, but Ray himself would generally twirl up to our canvasser collide nights, and he wouldn't leave of absence before slithering us a check from out of his own finances. It's what unbroken us going time we searched for more secure sponsorship from the area free. We owe a lot to Ray.
And it wasn't just the wake. It was the man too. He was exciting in his humility.
At the instance of the primary gift we had a guy in our church who worked as one of the primary accountants in the unrestricted medical building complex. "Oh yeah" he aforementioned to me one Sunday. "If it wasn't for Ray Williams, fractional the hospitals in Sydney could be drawn." And next he added "but he ne'er likes to have his describe mentioned. He hates the limelight"
We found this to be whole sure. We managed to get him on chapter erstwhile to up to date a prize to one of our fighters, but it was a formidable job. He genuinely hated one at the central point of curiosity. It's one of the property that makes this Royal Commission so detestable to him.
I still can't imagine the way the media have away after him - persistently assaultive him for his money to hospitals and charities. It's not as if he was openhanded away notes that should have departed to security claimants. If he hadn't specified it away, I conjecture it would have slightly inflated the profits rewarded to the shareholders, and he himself must have been one of the greatest shareholders. I yet discovery it foolish to assume that the media should have acted so sanctimoniously indignant in the region of the reality that the indigent shareholders were losing potential earnings because it had departed to the children's rest home. It's of late outrageous.
But it wasn't sole the media that crucified Ray. Once the communication give or take a few HIH's collapse became unrestricted knowledge, one-time colleagues vacant him, old friends and acquaintances turned their backs on him, and charities that he'd been following for old age all of a explosive didn't want to cognize him. Ray had been on the piece of wood of the Children's Hospital for as hourlong as everybody could summon up. They sent him a dispatch saying 'thank you but your employment are no longer required'. Nobody waited for the results of the Royal Commission. Nobody waited to see if possibly he wasn't the concrete scoundrel in the fragment. Everyone distanced themselves, not wanting their own reputations to be blemished.
I critically can't get that mental attitude. I cognise I'm able of doing any anserine and stingy things, but deserting a ship's officer in his case of have need of is not one of them. When I regard going on for all the people that Ray must have helped ended the years, I only can't feel that none of them idea to ball him up and say 'How are you going, Ray. Perhaps it's my twist to confer you more than a few support?'
Anyway, my spike here is not to dribble my dummy. And I'll be the primary to come clean that I don't have a hint going on for big business, protection laws, or thing of the variety. But I cognise a best man once I fitting one, and Ray Williams is a not bad man and individual whom I'm vain to nickname my mate. And I'll be buggered if I'm going endure by and perceive to relatives pouring turd out on a first mate of mine short truism thing.
To be truthful, I don't await that Ray will ever fully regain his previous honor or standing. I cognise too considerably just about how the media complex and going on for how our panel policy building complex to ever anticipate existing natural virtue. As near my friends Jim and Morde, I'm not holding my bodily function ready for the correctness to come up out. No. I'll appearance to the day once the domain of this world will turn the field of our Lord and Christ. When that day comes, all the shite will be sorted out.
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