Julio /// Cockatoo Man

When I first moved to Darwin I lived at the hospital with my partner in staff quarters while we house hunted. It was a cement shoe-box - designed for one person really. With zero ventilation, outdoor space, or people to hang out with - the sweat, heat and isolation was enough to drive me crazy. My saving grace was riding to the foreshore at sunset & cooling off at the Nightcliff pool. Packed full of people walking, running, riding or picnicking & drinking beers to cool off in the golden hours. A regular feature on the path became a man on his bike with a cockatoo perched on the front & a boombox playing "love is in the air" or similarly happy-pop songs. I always wondered who he was & what his story might be. 

In my final months in Darwin I teamed up with Johanna Bell of Story Projects to create our  'Locals who love Birds' series. We both finally got to meet Julio, below are some excerpts from the interview.

“Paulie likes bike riding and music! We ride down to Nightcliff every afternoon. People always smile at us and say we are exercising NT-style.”

“When I was growing up in Timor Leste, we had a pet cockatoo. He would copy everyone and follow us when we went out on the farm."

“I was 19 when I came to Darwin. There were 18 of us who came on a little fishing boat. I was the captain and we made it as refugees across the ocean."

 

“I have a good life here in Darwin but it’s hard to be away from my family in Timor.  I miss them a lot.”

“Paulie is a part of my family now, like my little brother. He can come anywhere with me.” 

“Paulie is very friendly but he can be a bit cheeky too. Sometimes he likes to pull our dog’s tail and hassle her.”

"Paulie can say a few words - Hello, how's it going? bye-bye, I love you, water and our names." 

Production: Story Projects

Supported by City of Darwin & Charles Darwin University