CAROLINE VAN DE POL
FAMILIES from every far-flung corner of the globe have called Broadmeadows home at one time or another.
One of its residents went on to television stardom. Another made his millions at the start of the mobile phone boom.
Like Eddie McGuire and the late “Crazy” John Ilhan, Geelong author Caroline van de Pol spent her formative years in the battler suburb.
The university lecturer and journalist grew up in a large Irish Catholic family, and went back to Broadmeadows to get a better understanding of her formative years alongside her seven siblings.
“Growing up in Broadmeadows, there wasn’t a lot of books around, there wasn’t even a library, but there were lots of stories,” she said.
“The book originally wasn’t going to be my family’s story, it was going to be about two boys I grew up living next door to who had freak childhood accidents and were both left without sight. I was writing their story and some early feedback from drafts was ‘Something’s missing — where are you?’ but being a journalist, I was staying out of it all. But with time and confidence, I felt I had a story to tell.”
Dr van de Pol was 27 when her younger sister Margaret, 25, took her life after fighting a long-running battle with schizophrenia, undiagnosed until its late stages.
“Part of the reason, not the only reason, (Margaret) became unwell was our childhood, I believe, losing our parents very young at a vulnerable age,” she said.
“I wanted to write about Broadmeadows with warmth and tenderness because it shaped me. I’m not unique in that.
“It didn’t mean I wanted to stay there forever, I was often dreaming about my escape when I was a child riding my bike.
“I hope the sense of place does come out, not the stereotypical one through media many years ago. Much of that has changed anyway.” Back to Broady will be launched alongside Nick Gleeson’s autobiography The Many Ways of Seeing at Geelong Library on August 8 at 6 for a 6.30pm start. RSVPs essential: vandepolc@gmail.com