A photograph of a bearded man leaning behind a battered golf buggy with his dog has gone viral – but the heartbreaking story behind the image isn’t what you think.
You’d be forgiven for thinking Paul Murcott, 59, was down on his luck or looking to hitch a ride, but as Brenton Smart found out earlier this year, looks can be deceiving.
Mr Smart first noticed the man and his dog, RJ, as he drove past them on the outskirts of Adelaide, but after fearing for their wellbeing, he decided to go back.
A photograph of a bearded man leaning behind a battered golf buggy with his dog has gone viral – but the heartbreaking story behind the image isn’t what you think
Mr Murcott said the shock of losing his daughter led him to head out on a journey to change attitudes about suicide prevention
You’d be forgiven for thinking Paul Murcott, 59 (pictured), was down on his luck or looking to hitch a ride, but as Brenton Smart found out earlier this year, looks can be deceiving
After speaking to the man, whom he found sheltering in the shade of his cart, Mr Smart uncovered the heartbreaking reason why he was alone on the side of the road.
‘Turns out he lost his daughter in November last year from suicide,’ Mr Smart explained in a Facebook post in which he shared a photo of the man.
Mr Murcott said the shock of losing his daughter led him to head out on a journey to change attitudes about suicide.
He said he was walking more than 1,000km from his home in Adelaide to Canberra to deliver a petition, urging for an improvement to Australia’s ‘inadequate mental health system’.
‘I wanna rattle the politicians’ cages as far as mental health issues are concerned and the lack of resources that go towards prevention of suicide, Mr Murcott told ABC Breakfast.
He said while the numbers of suicide across the board are horrendous, youth suicide rates are shocking so he’s doing the trek because it was his only answer to the grief.
‘My daughter took her own life less than six months’ ago and that goes against the natural order of things,’ Mr Murcott said.
In his February 14 post, Mr Smart urged for people to reach out and help Mr Murcott’s cause by heading over to say hello and signing his petition on change.org.
Mr Murcott’s 32-year-old daughter, Shona Mai (pictured), committed suicide in November 2018
Mr Smart first noticed the man and his dog, RJ, and the cart (pictured) as he drove past them on the outskirts of Adelaide, but after fearing for their wellbeing, he decided to go back
‘So if you see him in your travels pull over and have a chat and sign and help out a great cause,’ Mr Smart’s accompanying Facebook message stated.
The post quickly went viral on social media and has already garnered more than 55,000 reactions, with some people taking to the platform to share their praise.
Nearly four months has passed since the post went viral and Mr Murcott started out on his trek for his daughter, along with RJ, and he can still be found on the roadside.
When asked recently about how his body was holding up during his steady trek to Canberra, Mr Murcott told ABC Breakfast everything is fine except for his calves.
Mr Murcott said the shock of losing his daughter led him to head out on a journey with his dog (pictured) to change attitudes about suicide prevention
The final destination may still be more than 800km away, but according to Mr Murcott, the journey has become less about what happens when he gets there
‘Mr head still floats around in dark places but not like it was before I started,’ he said.
While the journey can be a solitary one, the bereaved father said when times do get tough, and he has dark thoughts, he just ‘walks harder’ than before.
The final destination may still be more than 800km away, but according to Mr Murcott, the journey has become less about what happens when he gets there.
‘As the trek’s been progressing, the time frame has become less relevant,’ he told Yahoo News. ‘The more I’m out here, it seems the more I’m getting the word around.’
Mr Murcott’s 32-year-old daughter, Shona Mai, committed suicide in November 2018.
Mr Murcott said he now knows being closed off like that doesn’t achieve anything, which is why he is trying to spread the message that ‘it’s not weak to speak’
The grief-stricken father said the tragedy of losing a daughter felt like he’d had his guts ripped out.
He said the motivation to go on the journey was as much about saving his own sanity as it was about raising awareness of mental health – if not more so.
‘I needed to heal my head. I was having really dark thoughts,’ he explained.
He admitted before losing his daughter to suicide, he was quite a stoic man – typical of the average Aussie bloke – who wouldn’t let his emotions show.
But he said he now knows being closed off like that doesn’t achieve anything, which is why he is trying to spread the message that ‘it’s not weak to speak’.
‘If I can help just somebody not take that step then I’ve done good,’ he said.
For information about suicide prevention, contact Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467.