Jeanette Hartley arrived at the Bendigo Railway Station at 4pm yesterday after a 200 kilometre trek from Ballarat, just two days shy of what would have been her son Adam’s 31st birthday.
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Ms Hartley made the journey for the third time in three years, as a tribute to Adam, while raising awareness about mental health and raising money for Lifeline.
“Adam suicided 13 years ago, he’d be up to his 31st birthday on Sunday, so it’s really important for me to have that coinciding and to celebrate his life,” she said.
Ms Hartley said at times the journey was analogous with the struggles of daily life.
If we just take one step at a time we can get through most things.
- Jeanette Hartley
“The fires (on Tuesday), that was a pretty hot day which was a hard day to get through,” she said.
“I'm trying to spread this message that if we just take one step at a time we can get through most things and that was certainly a test of our own resilience, to take one step at a time when it was really hot and we could see the smoke.
“There’s that notion of ‘we all have bad days’, that’s certainly true, and for anyone considering suicide as an option, maybe if they just could stop for a minute and get some help before that happens (they would change their mind).”
Ms Hartley said a secondary motive for tackling the epic journey was to promote the value of getting out in nature.
“For me it’s really important for us to spend time in nature and time in the bush, I think that’s really healthy for all of us,” she said.
“We’ve got this fantastic resource, the Goldfields Track, which from this end starts right in town, it’s really accessible for lots of people to get to and you could walk one section and have your car at another.”
While Ms Hartley said it felt good to have reached her final destination, part of her missed the open road.
“There’s a little bit of remorse,” she said.
“It is fun to be out there walking each day, setting up your tent, packing your tent up, there’s a bit of a rhythm to the days.”
Today also marks World Mental Health Day, on which Australians are asked to make a personal mental health promise to themselves and share it on social media.
Promises can be made at the campaign website 1010.org.au
For help call Lifeline on 13 11 14, or to donate click here.