By Gabriella Payne
Over six years ago, Victorian SES volunteer Robert Olifiers decided to lace up his shoes and go for a walk around his local neighbourhood streets.
Thousands of kilometres later – and many a pair of shoes – Mr Olifiers has made his way through the winding streets of 14 different municipalities in Melbourne, covering a whopping 7,900 kilometres on foot, all whilst raising awareness for a cause that’s close to his heart.
Mr Olifiers told the Star Journal of the many factors that sparked this epic journey, which will see him walk every suburban Melbourne street by the time he’s done, crossing 21 different metro Melbourne local council areas in the process.
“Every day I walk, I try and explore and find something different,” Mr Olifiers said.
“Every council I do I just love, because it’s like completing a jigsaw puzzle.
I walk through the streets and I talk to people, and I learn so much from the different communities.”
Mr Olifiers said that what started out as a simple walk, aimed at helping his body and mind, quickly became a great passion project of his, estimating that his journey has taken him through approximately 57,000 different streets, courts, lanes and paths over the last six and a half years.
But this mammoth journey was never a challenge or training project, but was in fact a way of combating feelings of loneliness and anxiety Mr Olifiers had experienced in his personal life.
After the breakdown of his 27 year marriage seven years ago, Mr Olifiers found himself struggling to be on his own and grappling with a lack of purpose.
“My ex-wife and I had suddenly separated and I really struggled with being on my own.
I have a counselling background and I know it happens with a lot of people – it’s a bit like struggling with grief.
I just didn’t want to bottle myself up in my house, alone,” he said.
Wanting to keep his mind and body busy, Mr Olifiers said he “sat down and wrote down a list of things” that he “wanted to achieve in the short term” – and the idea of walking came to mind.
Originally starting out in Mitcham, Mr Olifiers home suburb, he quickly became motivated to discover new, unwalked streets and decided to visit his local council, obtaining a map where he began marking off his journey.
“Once I had covered every street in Mitcham, I went to my local council and got a map of the City of Whitehorse and began ticking off all of those streets too,” he said.
14 municipalities later, Mr Olifiers is set on achieving his goal and is currently tackling the streets of both Greater Dandenong and Darebin at the moment, with only five municipalities left after that.
“Each evening I plan out my route for the next day and write it on a little sticky note,” Mr Olifiers said.
“I’ve already walked through about three quarters of Greater Dandenong. I’ve found it quite interesting, it’s such a diverse part of Melbourne.”
Mr Olifiers said he planned to complete his walk through Greater Dandenong in the coming months, by finishing up at the local SES unit on the corner of Cheltenham Road as part of a kind of tradition he has established over his years of walking.
“When I finish a council area, I celebrate it with a friend who may live in that area, a Mayor of the Council or an SES Unit that I visit,” he said.
Being a teacher by trade, Mr Olifiers finds the time to complete his walks either in the afternoons or on weekends, and will sometimes drive up to an hour to reach each new municipality he has planned to walk through on the day.
As well as being a great way to exercise, Mr Olifiers said he was proud to be spreading awareness about the amazing work that the SES does and loved chatting with people along the way, encouraging others to overcome anxiety and depression by getting out and about on walks of their own.
“I love talking to people, telling them my story and explaining why I’m doing it. I hope along the way by sharing my story, I can help others with their wellbeing,” Mr Olifiers said.
Having been a volunteer at the State Emergency Service for fifteen years now, Mr Olifiers said he was proud to be promoting the SES and explaining their work to people throughout the metro Melbourne region as he journeyed through different suburbs.
Along the way, Mr Olifiers has been taken by the diverse communities Melbourne has to offer, finding a particular interest in unique and creative letterboxes, which he photographs and shares on his Instagram page, @olifiers_unique_letter_boxes
“I see and take photos of some amazing sights, meet lovely people, flora and fauna, walk through some beautiful areas and ask and answer so many questions about the community,” he said.
“Each house, in the way it is presented, tells a story about the owner/occupier from the garden, fence or even letter box.
I have been amazed at the number of interesting, unique letter boxes I’ve seen that can define a house.”
Mr Olifiers is also currently writing a children’s book, all about the joys that can be found within the community.
As he nears closer to achieving his goal, Mr Olifiers said that he hoped his walking journey would inspire others to get out into their local communities and that if he could help at least one person suffering from grief and anxiety, like he had, then it was a road worth travelling.
