The Gunning Roos held their annual fundraiser for BeyondBlue on Saturday night, in an effort to boost awareness of the mental health struggles faced by rural towns.
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The event took place in the Gunning Showground Hall, and began at 7pm. The residents soon poured in, adorned in various bogan-esque regalia to keep with the Bogan Bingo theme.
Many chose to arrive wearing wigs which bore flowing mullets and plaid shirts. Among the costumes was also a shirt stuffed so as to appear pregnant, hair curlers, and even a fake baby strapped to the gap-toothed ‘father’s’ chest.
The atmosphere was excited, and the buzz of conversation grew steadily as the clock approached the scheduled start time of seven.
The night began with dinner and dessert, which were followed by welcome speeches.
The keynote speaker was Tristan Metcalfe, a volunteer from BeyondBlue based in Canberra.
Mr Metcalfe detailed his struggle with depression, which has plagued him for much of his adult life.
He spoke about the importance of communication, particularly in small country towns.
“Country people, country men in particular but it’s not exclusive, [have] this idea that ‘Ah we’ll just tough it out, she’ll be right’, and it doesn’t work,” Mr Metcalfe said.
“The stats show it doesn’t work. The suicide rates are way too high.”
However, he said that fundraisers such as the one run by the Roos were a positive step toward increasing awareness of the rates of suicide in rural towns.
The difference between Bogan Bingo and regular bingo was primarily in the dress code, however there were some thematic differences as well.
However, the rowdiness of the night was tinged by an undercurrent of somberness.
During Mr Metcalfe’s speech, each pause was greeted with loud cheering and applause.
The reason for this emphatic show of support was, according to one of the event organisers Ian Blackburn, that Gunning had a far more personal history with suicide than first appearances suggested.
“A few years ago we lost about ten people [to suicide],” Mr Blackburn said. “Not all at once, but within the space of about a year or two. It was devastating. People here tonight lost their children.”
This, Mr Blackburn explained, was the reason that the Roos decided to start the fundraiser in conjunction with the team’s first year back in competition.
