RECORDINGS OF VINCE talking
On this page are short audio recordings of Vince telling me stories that went into The Wonder of Little Things.
The stories are about:
when he first came across Australian Rules Football
what the St Francis House boys meant to him
him and Charlie Perkins as kids
how he dealt with racist abuse in sport
friendship at a turning point in his life
his love for listening and learning from people and places
some of his ideas about reconciliation in Australia, and
his faith in young people to make the world a better place.
In March 2020, when Vince and I began writing the book, he was living in Adelaide and I was in Melbourne. Our original plan was for me to spend periods of time in Adelaide at Vince and Brenda’s home and audio-record the sessions. But the Covid pandemic was looming, and after just two sessions together I had to go back to Melbourne, and we switched to doing it by phone.
Each session I’d sit at my kitchen table with the phone on speaker and my digital recorder next to it. My recorder is a simple one, perfect for recording Vince and me talking, which I would then transcribe into text on my computer.
I’m saying this because when you listen to these audio samples you’ll notice that the sound quality isn’t exactly hi-tech, given we did it over the phone. But you’ll hear Vince’s voice, which his family and I are delighted to share with you.
You also might hear some background sounds, like Vince’s clock chiming the hour, me turning the pages of my note-book, us sipping tea, or a radio in the distance.
Readers of The Wonder of Little Things – young, old and in between – who’ve heard these recordings have said how nice it is to hear Vince speaking. They’ve appreciated hearing his joy ring through in the happy stories, his care in the serious ones, and his warmth and laughter in the funny ones.
Here’s to you enjoying Vince’s company a little more as he shares some of his stories!
This next recording is a special extra - Vince’s daughter Kara talking about her dad and the book. She touches on the positive impact she saw him have on people, what she noticed about many of the stories in the book that she’d heard only parts of before, and what she’s proud of about her dad.
[Photo by Lea McInerney]
© 2024 This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Acknowledgement: Vince’s continuing legacy has been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body.