Going down in flames - Kerry

Written in chalk, the sign reads “Homeless - anything your heart can spare is welcome”. Gus Pravdi has walked along Flinders Street past this man countless times on the way to his downtown office and has often spared him a coin or two. It’s a generosity that has stood him in good stead all his life. He has created a couple of charities for worthy causes over the years and has been on various boards for charitable institutions such as the Red Cross.

But these days he feels way more connected with the man sitting on the pavement in Flinders Street.

You will have heard of Gus Pravdi, former CEO Everyman Company, if you read the Business Section of the Sydney Morning Herald or the Financial Review. He’s been headlining the business news for nearly a year. Everyman went under at the beginning of the year. There were some unfortunate deals, bad timing, nothing underhand or illegal. And in the present climate, with the Global Financial Crisis, Everyman had nowhere to go. Gus was left with nothing. All his equity in the company was lost. Any cash he had was required to pay off debts.

But Gus is an optimist. Despite losing everything, he decided he could salvage something from the experience. He would write a book about it while he re-assessed his future. He got himself a job as a cleaner at the local village school and set about his task. But he hadn’t reckoned on the weather.

In February Victoria was scorched by some of the hottest weather on record. Gus lost his house in Marysville and all his belongings on Black Saturday. He had reached a new low.

This latest blow really shook his confidence. For some days after the fire he had been allocated shelter in the school hall at Warburton. At night he would lie on his borrowed sleeping bag re-living the horror of his escape, seeing again the awful flames and feeling the searing winds. He couldn’t rid himself of the smell of smoke.

Gus talked with others in the shelter and heard some of the appalling stories they had to relate. It was healing for them to share their experiences. Many of them were neighbours or people he was acquainted with from the village. Most had lost their homes and many had lost friends and family. Gradually, as the days past, the homeless were allocated temporary accommodation in places like caravan parks. Gus was one of these.

He had been given a handout from the government to tide him over until he could find work. In the meantime he was determined to make something of this new experience, shattering though it had been.

He remembered the man sitting outside Flinders Street Station in the city.

With nothing but a tape recorder, a notebook and a pen, he began collecting stories from the victims of the fire. His plan is to publish a book to raise money for people like his mate in Flinders Street.