Geelong Cats chief executive Brian Cook has thrown his support behind a local bereavement charity’s nomination for a statewide award.
For about a decade Mr Cook has been an ambassador of Wombat’s Wish, which supports children who have lost a parent or parents.
“I was one of those, at the age of nine,” he said.
“I actually lost my mother in front of me. It was an event I’ll never forget, ever, even though it was 50-odd years ago.
“It still comes back in moments when I’m least expecting it. When you love someone so much, and they disappear in a flash, you just never forget it.”
Mr Cook and his older brother went to live with their father, who had separated with their mother prior to her taking her own life, along with their grandparents in Scotland for four years.
The Red Cross provided some financial support, but counselling and services like Wombat’s Wish were not available in the 1960s, Mr Cook explained.
“That was just the era we lived in,” he said.
“My father tried his best to look after us but he wasn’t a qualified psychologist or counsellor.
“At age nine you’re too young to know what to do – all you feel is pain in your heart and soul – you don’t know the next step.”
Mr Cook supported the nomination on Tuesday for the Victorian Community Achievement Awards to promote Wombat’s Wish’s work for children who suffered the loss he did.
“I have full admiration for the job that this group does,” he said.
Details: wombatswish.org.au
For support phone Lifeline on 13 11 14.
