M.C. Andrew Crockett introduced today’s speaker, Neil Cole, who told us about his life as a criminal lawyer, mental health advocate, Member of Parliament and Alzheimer's researcher before becoming a playwright and author.
Neil then told us about his latest book, “Trials and Tribulations in Community Law”.
Neil Cole graduated from Melbourne University and worked for seven years as a community lawyer, before becoming a member of Melbourne City Council and later the Victorian Parliament.
In 1995 he was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder, and he stated he re-invented himself in 1999 as an author and playwright. He worked in Mental Health, at the Royal Melbourne and Maroondah Hospitals and went on to win the Aspire Award in 2017 from the Supreme Court of Victoria for his ground-breaking work on Psychiatry in the theatre. As a member of Albert Park Rotary Club he supported Australian Rotary Health in dispelling much of the stigma associated with bi-polar disorder.
He described the link between creativity and mental illness, and how his excellent memory helped him to retain his thoughts from the “highs” and “lows” of his illness, to be included in his writing. While admitting the negatives of mental illness, he cautiously claimed some positives.
He self-published his latest book, “Trials and Tribulations In Community Law”, saying it would have taken him longer to find a suitable publisher, and it is now easier to self-publish, as limited runs of printing can be made, and more ordered to fit the market. He considered $2,000 for an Editor to be well-spent, and he compared writing plays where you “show” the audience the action, to writing books you have to “tell” the story.
In his book, Neil amalgamates several characters from his experiences to tell several fictional stories. Drug dealers, horses, and of course Flemington, with “more tips than horses”.
The stories tell of his personal experience while representing individuals experiencing hardships such as domestic violence, single motherhood, youth unemployment, homophobic and discriminatory social attitudes and police brutality and corruption. Neil gently tells these stories set within the kaleidoscope of the severe 1980s recession where unemployment rates in the Flemington and Kensington community housing high-rises were at a staggering 50% of the young people living there. Some of his clients included the runner who later killed three people during the gangland wars that began in Melbourne in 1998. Another was shot by police, the first of many police shootings that followed in the subsequent years. The book tells of the underworld that was to dominate Melbourne society throughout the 1980s to the early 2000s
The “Toorak Times” recommends this book because it gives a quick insight into the 1980’s in an entertaining, exciting and instructive manner, and reminds us that it’s wise to explore what we don’t understand or fear. By considering each story we can gain a greater insight into the range of issues around what happens to young people and criminal behaviour – these simply told stories are timeless and potent.
Questions from the audience related to family violence, bi-polar disorder and youth crime.
In thanking Neil for his talk, Chairman Andrew Crockett presented him with a certificate acknowledging a donation in his name to Australian Rotary Health: the wheel turning full circle.
You can order “Trials and Tribulations in Community Law” at https://neilcole.au