Street life

Sydney Morning Herald

Thursday October 29, 2009

Barry Divola

Barry Divola meets a much-loved local who truly bridges the Gap.Who is he? Don Ritchie, retired life insurance manager.Where have you seen him? Ritchie is well known in Vaucluse as the man who, over the past 45 years, has personally tried to prevent hundreds of suicides off the rock ledges of Gap Park, opposite his home.What��s his story? Ritchie, 83, served in the navy during World War II aboard HMAS Hobart �� and was in Japan for the surrender. After the war, he sold shop supplies such as scales and slicers before embarking on his career in life insurance. He retired at 63 and since then he and his wife, Moya, have travelled twice around Australia in their caravan. They��ve lived in their house overlooking Gap Park since 1964 and Ritchie saw what he thinks was the first of many suicide attempts that year. In 1970, he made front-page news when he helped prevent a young woman from jumping and his family estimates he has talked down 160 people over the years. His work was acknowledged in 2006 when he was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia.Will people ever stop jumping? ��It has been going on for years as a well-known suicide spot,�� he says. ��I don��t think that��s going to change.��His advancing years mean he can no longer get across to climb the fence but he still looks out for people in distress and calls the police.What did he say to people who wanted to end their lives? ��What I did was try to sell people on the idea of coming back from the edge.Sometimes it��s just the fact that someone is talking to them that helps.��What about the situations where he wasn��t able to talk someone down? ��It happens, unfortunately. I saw one bloke over there some years ago. He was only 19. I asked him if he wanted to come over for a cup of tea or a beer. He was only a couple of feet away and he just turned around and jumped. His hat blew off and I caught it in my hand.It turned out he used to play with my grandchildren in our yard.��For support, call SANE Helpline 1800 187 263; Lifeline 13 11 14; Salvo Crisis Line 9331 2000; beyondblue 1300 224 636.

© 2009 Sydney Morning Herald

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