Malcolm Robbins is a spirited, spritely 90-year-old who was, as he describes it, “born and bred in Castlemaine,” in rural Victoria.
“Lived here all my life.”
In his huge, open shed, Malcolm’s slight frame is lost in an oversized zip-up jacket as he’s seated for an interview with the Insight program – but he’s not to be underestimated. As we soon discover, when Malcolm shows us around his property, he has the vigour of someone 20 years his junior and a wicked sense of humour to go with it.
City slickers! I’m just doing my best to point them in the right direction
He’s immediately telling our cameraman to watch his step on the uneven terrain as he tries to get a moody shot of Malcolm in the stunning, morning lit landscape.
We may have the camera, but today, Malcolm’s doing the directing.
“City slickers! I’m just doing my best to point them in the right direction,” Malcolm says.
Insight is at Malcolm’s property to film his pride and joy: 100 acres of Barker’s Creek that’s been in the Robbins family for generations, and the neighbours - some old, some new - who come with it.
Barker’s Creek is located in Castlemaine, a former gold mining town about 120 kilometres northwest by road from Melbourne. It has a population of over 6,700 with people aged 65 years and over making up almost a third of people living there.
"City slickers! I’m just doing my best to point them in the right direction" Source: Insight
While Malcolm knows this is all for an Insight program about incredible stories of neighbours who have a special bond, he maintains all day he doesn’t quite understand why we’d want to speak with him. As far as he’s concerned - he’s nothing special.
“Just an average bloke mate, just average,” he says of himself, seemingly unsure of what all the fuss is about.
But Malcolm’s neighbours say otherwise. In fact, they’re the ones who put him up to this.
They reached out to Insight producers asking that we tell his story because to them, Malcolm isn’t a resident of Castlemaine – he’s what makes Castlemaine.
“He’s the hub of this community. Everything revolves around his shed,” says Linda McNeill, one of Malcolm’s neighbours.
Malcolm’s just been a blessing for us
Linda moved to Castlemaine from Melbourne with her husband and children four years ago.
“We lived on a very small block of land on a big, main, busy road and we didn’t know any of our neighbours.”
“We just worked all the time.”
She wanted to escape the noisy city and trade it in for fresh air and farm life in rural Victoria.
Having a neighbour like Malcolm was something Linda never expected to find when she moved into the area.
“When we were in Melbourne, you didn’t really have people show such an interest in your life and care so much about your success. We expected to come here and do it all ourselves.”
“What are the chances of finding someone so generous and welcoming? I’ve never had a neighbour like Malcolm before and I don’t expect to ever have another one like Malcolm again.”
Source: Insight
But Linda had a lot to learn about life on acreage – and that’s where Malcolm came in.
“When we moved here, I knew nothing. I didn’t even know how big an acre was. Malcolm showed us city slickers how to survive on the farm.”
He taught us how we keep our wood ready to burn, when’s a good time to fix fences, fix drains and how to maintain our properties - there’s no course for that.”
Malcolm’s help extends to other families who have moved from the city. And his neighbours hope to preserve that knowledge for future generations.
“Malcolm’s just been a blessing for us,” says Linda.
“We’ve leaned on him so heavily and he’s spent so much time on our block, showing us what to do, telling us the history of the property, which we will pass on to our children.”
Malcolm grows what he and his neighbours refer to as a “veggie patch,” but the huge, overflowing patch of land would be better described as a market garden.
“Malcolm’s veggie patch is the most famous veggie patch in the community,” Linda tells Insight.
Source: Insight
For Malcolm, it’s a way to bring his neighbours together.
“Well, I give them a few free vegetables and we have a bit of a chat yack,” Malcolm explains.
Linda says the lessons her kids have been able to learn from the way Malcolm lives are priceless.
“He’s king of the kids, my kids love to visit uncle Malcolm. He’s everyone’s favourite grandpa.”
“Malcolm’s the grandfather every wishes they had.”
It seems residents of Castlemaine just can’t get enough of Malcolm Robbins. Every single person we speak with throughout the day sings his praises.
“He’s an absolute font of information and I just love coming and chatting to him,” says Margaret, who’s lived in the area for 30 years.
“I don’t have a lot of friends around this town and I don’t know what I’d do without him, he means a lot. We love Malcolm, he’s a legend,” said Mark, who’s lived next door to Malcolm for the last year."
“He doesn’t want to have a fuss made about him, he says ‘don’t make a saint out of me’,” neighbour, James says.
“We know he’s flesh and bone like the rest of us, but you don’t get kinder hearts or more genuine people than Malcolm.”
Source: Insight
And when we ask some children what their favourite thing about Malcolm was, six-year-old Evan grins while pointing at his three year-old-brother.
“Nathan’s is especially the cookies, I know that! And mine is probably helping with the farm,” he says.
As we find ourselves confined to our homes or local suburbs, with many of us itching to escape, it’s worth considering that this could also be an opportunity to appreciate the impact of the people closest to us – just over the fence.
These Castlemaine residents seem to get it - there’s something special about knowing the value of your neighbours and celebrating that.
And if you haven’t noticed yours during this pandemic, it might be time to look over the fence. You could have a Malcolm Robbins next door to you – and if you do, it’s worth finding out.
Tune in to Insight, SBS on Tuesday the July 7 as guest host, Marc Fennell, takes you into backyards all around Australia, to hear from neighbours who have developed relationships and lifelong friendships that go far beyond a wave over the fence.
