Parkie

Walking into the inner-city Brisbane suburb of West End one morning, I witnessed a group of Aboriginal “parkies” being moved on from a corner of the main road.

The health service was a sanctuary for Aboriginal people, especially the “parkies” – a young Roach among them – who were living on the nearby streets, many having gravitated to inner-city Melbourne to try to trace their families after years spent on reserves and missions.

Some people with Parkinson’s embrace being called a ‘Parkie’, while others hate the term.