A tradie is begging for work in the street after he ‘lost everything’ in his divorce and almost died from cancer.
Rex Fairbrother worked as a rigger, dogman and crane driver around Australia for 35 years before his diagnosis and is now struggling to make ends meet.
The 62-year-old has been holding up a handwritten sign on a traffic island in Cooroy, on the Sunshine Coast, since before Christmas.
Experienced tradie Rex Fairbrother now spends his days sitting on a traffic island begging for a job using a handwritten sign
Mr Fairbrother revealed to Daily Mail Australia the tragic backstory that led him to stand at the corner of Tewantin Road and Elm Street every day, even in pouring rain.
He grew up in Wynyard, Tasmania, and had two children before his marriage broke down and he ‘lost everything’ in his divorce in 2006.
After gaining sole custody of his sons Nathan, 27, and Toby, 25, he struggled to provide for his family and left Tasmania in search of work in 2011.
‘Everything was cool down there for a while but they’ve shut the pulp mills, closed down big industry, and there’s no construction,’ he said.
His sign, written by hand on a piece of cardboard, listed his extensive qualifications, experience, and that he has a car – hoping a passerby would give him a shot
Mr Fairbrother wound up on the Sunshine Coast in 2017, where he lives with Nathan, but his life was turned upside down again in March last year.
‘I did one of those free bowel cancer tests they send out and it came back positive. The test saved my life,’ he said.
Doctors removed the top half of his colon and only a few months ago cleared him to go back to work in his physically demanding industry.
In that time he burned through all his savings and had to cash out his superannuation to stay afloat.
‘I’m stressing big time. I’ve had to talk to the people I owe money too, I’m on the bones of my a**e, I really need a job like yesterday. All my super is gone too,’ he said.
However, he has found it difficult to get a reliable, permanent job that will allow him to get back on his feet, leading to him resorting to pleading by the roadside.
He grew up in Wynyard, Tasmania, and had two children before his marriage broke down and he ‘lost everything’ in his divorce in 2006
‘Labour hire firms and applying online is a waste of time, so that’s why I’m on the side of the road,’ he said.
‘I’m being picky this time, I’ve been around the country working my guts out,’ he said.
‘I’ve had a gutful of changing jobs every year, I need the right job to do me for five years until I retire at 67.’
His sign, written by hand on a piece of cardboard, listed his extensive qualifications, experience, and that he has a car – hoping a passerby would give him a shot.
‘Work wanted. White card, HC licence, crane licences, 30yrs dogging, excavator licence, fork licence, own transport,’ it read.
Mr Fairbrother said his efforts have so far led to lots of people talking to him but no offers of the kind of work he wants to do.
He has found it difficult to get a reliable, permanent job that will allow him to get back on his feet, leading to him resorting to pleading by the roadside
However, when photos of his sign were posted to social media, some locals claimed he was too specific about what kind of job he wanted.
‘I called a couple of mates that are looking for tipper drivers,’ one man who saw his sign and wanted to help said.
‘They had surprisingly all already given him a go and after a week his pulled the pin saying the work wasn’t for him.’
Others had similar stories and claimed he had been using the sign to look for a job for at least six months.