A lot can change in 30 years, but two things have been consistent for Alan Brown: his neighbour Alf Richardson’s visits, and recording the rainfall.
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Mr Richardson, 83, has been looking out for his now 90-year-old friend since Mr Brown’s wife Rhonda died in 1985, leaving Mr Brown alone in his house in Strathdale.
Twice a day, every day, for almost 30 years, Mr Richardson checked in on his friend.
Visits are slightly less frequent these days – Mr Richardson has had some health concerns, which he has been recovering from – but no less fond.
Their discussion about being photographed for this story seemed typical of the pair.
Mr Brown, the more reserved of the two, was reluctant.
“It might be the last one,” Mr Richardson teased.
“I thought I was gone last night,” the 90-year-old said.
“He’s been telling me that for years, and he’s still here,” Mr Richardson replied.
“And he’ll still be here when I’m dead and gone.”
The original reason for the Bendigo Advertiser tagging along for the visit – the Brown tradition of recording rainfall – seemed to have been forgotten as the pair reminisced about the good times and the challenges they had overcome throughout the years.
Mr Richardson has bounced back from brain surgery and prostate cancer; Mr Brown is increasingly reliant on a machine to help him breathe.
The pair’s catch-ups typically involve a pack of biscuits and cups of tea – according to Mr Richardson, they’re the best Button Street has to offer.
Another enduring feature of the pair’s friendship has been Mr Richardson’s inquiries about the weather.
The Brown family has been recording rainfall for more than a century, initially from a farm in Colbinabbin.
The glass equipment Mr Brown uses to this day once belonged to his father.
“What year he started, I don’t know – he did it until he died,” Mr Brown said.
His father lived until his 80s.
“Then my sister did it until she died, and when she died I took over,” Mr Brown said.
The family recorded their observations in a series of notebooks, but there is only one left to show for the legacy.
Mr Brown said he destroyed all but the book he was still writing in, which dates back to 1969.
He said the old notebooks were disorganised and difficult to comprehend, making them useless as records.
“I reckon I keep it better than what he did,” Mr Brown said.
This came as a surprise to Mr Richardson, who believed his friend had kept them all.
Mr Brown will calculate the May total rainfall on Tuesday.
“If I don’t do it, he rings me up,” Mr Brown said.