Reach Out to a Mate

TELLING a mate to have another beer and things will be better in the morning is the worst bit of advice Darren Flanagan said he hears blokes say.

Darren Flanagan, Tony McTaggert, Chris Nixon, Aaron Henry, Chris Hatherley, Daniel Bavister, Nathan Chalmers and David Jacks

Darren Flanagan, known as the “Gun”, is the explosives expert who blasted his way towards Todd Russell and Brant Webb at the Beaconsfield Mine disaster.

On Saturday night Darren spoke to more than 70 local people about what it was like to watch the Beaconsfield mine rescue happen from underground for nine days.

Lee Watts, manager of the Scone Neighbourhood Resource Centre who brought Darren to town to talk about his experience said the audience was riveted.

“We all watched the event unfold on TV but Darren gave us a completely new perspective,” Mrs Watts said.

“We listened to the explosives as he recounted the 29 hours of blasting and what he and other rescuers went through as they got closer and closer still unsure if Webb and Russell were alive,” she said.

“The feelings they experienced when they finally reached and saved them and what was to come and how they worked with their felling after the rescue.

“But he also reminded us that mental health is real, when there is a tragedy or just a build-up of day to day and encourages men to talk to each other and not try and put up a facade with a couple of beers,” she said.

“His advice was to forget the alcohol and find a Counsellor you can talk to and sometimes it can take a while to find a Counsellor you can click with, but it is worth it because things can get so much better; so the message he wanted to get out was to reach out and find a friend when you need one and give help to your mates when they need it,” Lee Watts said.