Les Twentyman - The Mouth that Roared

Praise for The Mouth that Roared

Les is a frontline urban lifesaver, rescuing the drowning from their addictions. If you want to know the truth about Australia, and whats gone wrong, The Mouth that Roared is a compelling read.

Chris Smith, 2GB radio presenter

Les Twentyman is a legend, a true guardian angel in the wilds of Western suburbia where so many are forgotten or maligned. Filled with his characteristic humour, wit and knack for telling a good tale, this is a book that should be read by policymakers, politicians and opinion columnists. They might learn something from the Bray-brook boy who didnt finish high school, but who truly understands the heart and humanity behind our most vulnerable and voiceless.

Alice Pung, author

Les Twentyman is one of the gems of Melbourne life: the perfect example of good people who dont care where you come from or what you sound like. Les is authentic. He is passionate, he cares and he gets it more than just about anyone. His is a story of a bloke who enjoys a laugh, a good time and, by being non-judgemental towards everyone he meets, is able to connect disparate spirits and save lives. Thats a story worth reading.

Eddie McGuire AM, TV and radio presenter, President, Collingwood Football Club

Les Twentymans memoir is funny, honest and inspiring. His memories of growing up in the western suburbs are warm and wonderful. A restless student, most likely to disrupt classes with his constant questioning, he has built a life on challenging authority and raising his hand to talk on behalf of those who dont have strong voices. Through football, politics, community work and media, Les has been an outstanding leader and is one of Australias great storytellers.

Paul Kennedy, ABC TV presenter and author

Leslie TwentymanOAM is a prominent youth outreach worker and community activist in the western suburbs of Melbourne. Raised in Braybrook, he is one of Australias best-known social campaigners on issues ranging from home-lessness, drug abuse, prison reform and social welfare. In 1984, Twentyman and Ron Coleman, then owner of the Western Times, founded the 20th Man Fund to give 10 young homeless people a Christmas party. Now The Les Twentyman Foundation, the fund has grown exponentially to become a vital resource for young people, dedicated to providing positive intervention and unconditional support to thousands of at-risk youth each year. In 1994 Les Twentyman received an Order of Australia; in 2004, he was a finalist for Australian of the Year; and in 2006, he was awarded Victorian of the Year.
www.20thman.com.au; www.ltfoundation.com.au

Robert Hillman is a Melbourne-based writer of over 60 works of fiction and non-fiction. His autobiography, The Boy in the Green Suit, won the Australian National Biography Award for 2005. His 2007 biography, My Life as a Traitor, written with Zarah Ghahramani, appeared in numerous overseas editions and was short-listed for the Prime Ministers Literary Awards in 2008. He wrote the best-selling The Rugmaker of Mazar-e-Sharif (2008) in collaboration with former Afghan asylum seeker, Najaf Mazari, followed by a collection of modern Afghan fables, The Honey Thief. In 2013, Roberts biography on Gurumul Yunupingu, Gurumul: His Life and Music (2013) was released to great acclaim.

A memoir

Les Twentyman

with

Robert Hillman

Published by Wild Dingo Press
Melbourne, Australia
www.wilddingopress.com.au

First published by Wild Dingo Press 2017

Text copyright Les Twentyman & Robert Hillman
The moral right of the author has been asserted.

Except as permitted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968, no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without prior permission of the copyright owners and the publisher of this book.

Cover design: Emma Statham
Editor: Catherine Lewis
Typesetting: Midland Typesetters

National Library of Australia
Cataloguing-in-Publications Data

Twentyman, Les, 1948-author.

The mouth that roared / Les Twentyman and Robert Hillman.

ISBN: 9780987381378 (ePub)

Twentyman, Les, 1948
Social workersVictoriaBiography.

Social serviceVictoria.
Other Creators/Contributors:
Hillman, Robert, 1948-author.

This book is dedicated to my wife Cherie, and granddaughter Lotus, who has lived with us for seven years; my late father and mother, Leslie Jack Snr and Ilma; my brothers Garry, Dennis, Mark, and sister Sandra.

Acknowledgements

Whatever Ive achieved is only possible because of the dedication and long-term commitment of a wonderful team of people from all walks of lifethose who took on the challenge to change their lives, those who work directly with and mentor our youth, those who have a big heart along with the influence or the cash to ensure the Les Twentyman Foundation continues to grow and give our youth at risk a real chance at life. So big cheers and thank yous to:

All the battlers, the young people whom my fellow youth workersJim, Richard, Sarha, Jana, Gum, Ben, Lisa and volunteerswork with every day to give them a pathway to a happy and fulfilled life.

I would also like to thank long-time supporters who have helped get this book to the starting line: Harold Mitchell, Rick Smith, John Fowler, Lloyd Williams, Bruce Mathierson Jnr, John Shore, Paul Wheelton AM, and his brother Simon; and in very recent times, Nick Johnstone and his wonderful, supportive family.

To all who have encouraged me to open up my life to the world: the master craftsman of writing, Robert Hillman, who as well as turning my outpourings into a book, was somebody on whom I could unload some of the Tough Stuff that has been bottled up for so long; my publisher at Wild Dingo Press, Catherine Lewis, for taking the book on; and former long-time Herald Sun columnist Bryan Patterson, who sparked the interest for a book four years ago.

Finally, to my board led by Dr David Young and Ros Andrews, our CEO Wayne Owens; and Club 20 members, without whom we could not function.

Hopefully this book will enlighten Australians of the tasks that lie ahead and inspire us all to tackle them like the Mighty Western Bulldogs did in 2016 when they showed the AFL sporting world that champions get up when they cant.

Junk

She might be thirty, a bit haggard, black T-shirt, black slacks, long dark hair. Shes in charge of a baby in a stroller. Shes just taken a seat in a park in Footscray, a ramshackle place, scraggly eucalypts, parched grass, rubbish in small windswept heaps. And amongst the rubbish, used sharps, cellophane syringe wrappers, plastic sterile water bottles enough for one whack. The place has a nameMacNab Park, just a sliver of land, an exit from Footscray Station leading to it. Im on my way from somewhere or other to the office of Open Family in Nicholson Street, a hundred metres away. Thats where I work, at Open Family. This is 1995, twenty-four years ago, so I couldnt swear to what Id been doing before I came upon this woman. What I would be able to swear to, though, is that whatever business Im engaged in on this sunny Friday will have something to do with exactly what Im looking at: an addict in a needy state, her priorities completely focused on scoring. And shes got another one of her kids with her to help the business alonga boy of five or six in shorts and a rumpled shirt and thongs. I stand where I am and watch. I know whats going to happen. She sends the kid running off to a dealer. Always dealers in this patch of Footscray, tucked away in the shadows, hands in pockets, vacant expression, but actually very alert. Very. And an addict knows exactly where to find him; every addict beyond a certain level of experience has a preternatural homing instinct. The dealer could be in a bunker twenty metres underground and an addict will sniff him out. Two minutes later, the kid comes running back, one hand clenched. He slips a little plastic baggie into his mums hand, then stands glancing about: north, south, east and west. The woman has sent the kid because the cops might have the park under surveillance and a kid will attract less attention than an addled woman with a haunted look about her.