For some reason known only to sleep-deprived parents, I watched Wolf Creek alone at home. At night. The day before leaving on a long road trip accompanied only by my small child.
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It must have been a good half-hour after it finished that I could peel myself off the couch and walk, zombie-like to the fridge, where the answers to all good horror movies lie. I don’t think I had blinked in that time.
The film left a lasting impression. And a secret horror of wolves. And creeks. And John Jarratt.
Close to 10 years later, I received an email from Mr Jarratt.
I froze, instantly, at my editor’s desk. Could he see me? Were there other people in the building? Where was the fire escape?
Then, pulling myself together, I opened the email. It was a letter to the editor, in his capacity as ambassador for Asbestos Awareness Month Campaign, talking about the dangers of asbestos.
The man who inspired absolute fear was using his power for good instead of evil. I wrote back immediately.
“Dear Mr Jarratt, I am still terrified of you after watching Wolf Creek. I will do anything you say.”
His letter was printed.
This year, I again received an email from Mr Jarratt, bringing with it slightly less fear but a truly important message, and an uncomfortable memory of my own father in his Stubbies and thongs cutting up asbestos planks for the new verandah.
“Aussies are besotted with renovating,” Mr Jarratt wrote. “We’re infatuated with DIY lifestyle programs [such as Better Homes and Gardens, Mr Jarratt?] and the plethora of decorator products designed to excite the renovator in us.”
Too true. Only last week we indulged in some DIY when we changed a lightbulb that had been blown for a good two months.
Every 14 hours, Mr Jarratt pointed out, an Australian loses their life to mesothelioma, and every 13 hours, another 13 families receive the tragic news that a loved one has mesothelioma.
While the mythical Mick Taylor might be a legendary killer, asbestos is one we really have to worry about, not only during Asbestos Awareness Month in November, but year-round.
It’s estimated one-in-three Aussie homes contain asbestos in one form or another, so before you cut – go slow. As Jarratt says, asbestos is a no go and not something you want to tackle in ignorance.
To find out more, visit asbestosawareness.com.au
Marie Low is a Fairfax Media journalist.