In 1974, three school friends in their late teens, without a plan, decided to backpack around Tasmania in the middle of winter. It was “bone-chilling cold and constant drizzle.” They decided to try to hitchhike to their next destination, and loitered in front of houses in the outskirts of town to look for a ride. They waited for hours “when a young boy came out of a neat cottage with a basket. He said his mum thought we might like something to eat and drink. In the basket was a Thermos of tea, mugs and a container with some cake and biscuits. It was a balm on that freezing cold day.” All these years later, they remembered that kindness. “It showed me that most people are good and want to look out for their fellow man. Eventually the drizzle stopped and we got our ride, but I’ve never forgotten the kindness of that stranger.”
