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Thread: Vincent Greentree, Homeless"The Heart & Soul of Woolloomooloo" Has Died Aged 65

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    Vincent Greentree, Homeless"The Heart & Soul of Woolloomooloo" Has Died Aged 65

    Godammit. My cat knocked my tablet over

    Edit : sorry all, I was getting lunch & had no intention of posting this for an hour or two.

    Reminder to self : Always lock your screen. Cats are jerks



    Anyway, I need a mod to fix the title whenever someone gets the chance, please



    It should read : Homeless Man, Vincent Greentree, "The Heart & Soul of Woolloomoolo" Has Died Aged 65


    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/...05-p50kcg.html

    'A piece of Woolloomooloo has died': passing of man homeless for 39 years

    'A piece of Woolloomooloo has died': passing of man homeless for 39 years
    Vincent Greentree was the "heart and soul" of Woolloomooloo.
    By Tim Barlass 7 December 2018

    Living homeless on the streets of Sydney doesn't normally bring celebrity status. It was different for Vincent Greentree, at least at a local level.

    He was known to the police, in the nicest possible way. If you walk into Woolloomooloo police station, outside of which he would regularly bed down for the night, there is a large image of Vincent with smiling officers at his side.

    "The heart and soul of Woolloomooloo": Vincent Greentree.

    "The heart and soul of Woolloomooloo": Vincent Greentree.

    His passing on Monday aged 65 at the flat he had lived in since 2016 even merits comment from lord mayor Clover Moore. In a statement she said: "Vincent was a loved and respected member of the Woolloomooloo community who will be remembered as a cheeky and generous man.

    "Both his life and death should serve as a reminder of the work we need to do, across all levels of government, to look after the most vulnerable members of our community."



    Plans are underway for an open air service in Woolloomooloo Square. Julie Smith, who runs the health clinic at the Matthew Talbot Hostel, where he would regularly turn up for medical treatment, is currently arranging a service and funeral for next week.

    She said: "A piece of Woolloomooloo has died. The funeral is likely to be big, probably open air, in Tom Uren Place, here in Woolloomooloo."

    Vincent Greentree picture in reception at Woolloomooloo police station.

    Vincent Greentree picture in reception at Woolloomooloo police station.CREDIT:SMH

    He'd been introduced to Quentin Bryce, then governor-general. As she sipped a cup of tea at the reception he urged her away to sit on the floor and see his CD collection. She is said to have grimaced as he offered her an AC/DC album. He'd also met singer Seal and Australian rugby league coach Brad Fittler.

    There were, perhaps predictably, some mental health problems. He would express himself with lists of words (passion, cross, birth, choice...) written on the walls of buildings. Some have survived.

    Carole Ann had been his friend and carer since she met him when he was aged 44 some 21 years ago. "Thirty-nine years he was homeless out on the street," she said. "He was the heart and soul of Woolloomooloo.

    "Two weeks ago I visited him in hospital. He said: "You were a rich bitch once, weren't you? What did you do with all your money?" I said [it went] looking after people like you and I started a charity."

    Carole Ann, friend and carer of Vincent Greentree, with Kenneth Gurney, another homeless man who knew Vincent for more than 20 years.

    Carole Ann, friend and carer of Vincent Greentree, with Kenneth Gurney, another homeless man who knew Vincent for more than 20 years.CREDIT:WOLTER PEETERS

    His story personifies how easily, and quickly, can be the descent to homelessness. Details are scant. There's a younger brother, also homeless, "in a very bad way in Melbourne" she said.

    Born in Pennant Hills, he was working as an apprentice butcher. He woke up on one occasion after Friday night drinks after work in hospital with two police officers at his bedside. He was under arrest for assault. That's when they diagnosed the mental health issues, Carole Ann said.

    "He then got a job as a caretaker at a shop where he was allowed to sleep on the premises and was paid in cigarettes. Then in the 1970s they built the freeway through and the shop had to go and he had to go. That's how he ended up on the streets of Woolloomooloo."

    Mark Morel lived alongside Vincent on the streets for three years. He said: "Vince lived for cigarettes, rock music and Marvel comics.

    Vincent Greentree with the former governor-general Quentin Bryce.

    Vincent Greentree with the former governor-general Quentin Bryce.

    "I used to look after his swag because he was too sick to carry it around himself and bring it out for him at night. When he was lucid he was incredibly funny. There aren't many people in this sector who don't know Vince."

    A cousin, Alwyn Parry, aged 84, from Queensland, said he had been in touch with Vincent the day before he died. "He had a chest infection and was having trouble breathing," he said. "I had to track him and his brother down after another cousin died and I was a signatory on the estate. "There are funds for him to be buried, which was his wish."

    The expectation is that it will be a plain birch coffin and that mourners will, emulating Vincent's style, write on it with textas. Others, tradition suggests, may just leave a single cigarette.

    Vincent Greentree, who expressed himself writing one-word graffiti.

    Vincent Greentree, who expressed himself writing one-word graffiti.
    Last edited by blighted star; 12-07-2018 at 05:27 PM.

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