In 1978 John Cadoret walked out of the Melbourne bank where he had worked for five years and kept walking.
Forty two years and countless thousands of kilometres later he is still walking.
He has been to Narrabri district many times.
He recalled his visit in 2015, his local friends noting he brought welcome rain with him on that occasion as well.
John has chosen a life most would find challenging, yet many probably may envy.
It’s a life of complete freedom; he goes when and where he likes, rain, hail or shine, the weather doesn’t worry him.
He is unworried, asks for nothing, doesn’t take funds from any government, but is supported by the kindness of people he meets on his way.
John has covered the length and breadth of Australia, from Victoria up to Queensland and back many times, along the coast and deep inland, way out west and down south.
He has been an occasional visitor to Narrabri over the years and dropped in to The Courier to catch up when he passed through town on Wednesday.
He wasn’t sure when his last visit was.
“The years merge a bit.”
John has friends all over Australia, including a regular local supporter of 15 years who, like many, follows his journey online.
Nothing much has changed in his life since his last visit, John said.
“The country is looking better after the rain, though.
“And people are just as friendly and generous.
“I only find kindness and consideration on my journeys.”
He’s seen more of Australia close up, than anybody, after he left his bank job for a three month holiday.
“I have been continuously on the road ever since.”
When John set off 42 years ago, after hitch hiking for a while, he decided to walk on the right side of the road so motorists and truckies wouldn’t stop to offer him a lift.
He doesn’t accept lifts, he walks.
“They go by with a wave and a toot of the horn – they know I don’t want a lift.”
John is a familiar figure for his many acquaintances along the highways and byways of eastern Australia.
He has met thousands of people and has a following of loyal supporters on Facebook who look out for him, posting updates and tracking his journeys.
After a yarn in Maitland Street last week he hoisted on his backpack, bags and other belongings in a familiar routine.
“Home is my swag,” he says.
The comprehensive swag is big enough to carry quite a lot.
“I don’t know what it all weighs and don’t want to know,” he laughed.
John was going west from Narrabri, but, as always, was in no hurry.
He covers ‘about 10km a day, sometimes 15,’ but it may be less.
John Cadoret is your average 65 year old, naturally probably much fitter than most, happy to chat and with a wry sense of humour.
He is at peace with himself, very contented with his life and comfortable with his choices.
“I decided to leave the bank when they started dropping hints about getting serious about my work,” he said.
It was a good paying job but he decided to set off anyway.
Since then he has lived on the road.
He stops when he feels like it, unloading his swag and settling in for the night just off the roadside.
He reads until the afternoon light fades and then goes to sleep.
“I’m currently reading about Australia’s biggest bank robbery in colonial days,” he said.
He occasionally drops in to stay with family members but only for a few days from time to time.
“I don’t want to wear out my welcome.”
His mother and family members found John and caught up with him for the first time in 25 years back in 2004 when he was featured on ABC TV’s Australian Story.
And then he was back on the road.
Does he get tired?
“No, I just poke along and stop when I feel like it off the side of the road. Everything I need, and more, is in my swag.”
He has plenty of offers of sustenance along his journeys.
A passerby pressed $20 into his hand when he was chatting to The Courier in Maitland Street.
“People kept stopping me to give me pies and sandwiches.
“People are always good to me.”
Money is not a worry and John ‘picks up’ as he goes along.
“I don’t have a lot of expenses,” he added.
“I don’t need much and I don’t want much.”
“A pair of shoes will last three to four months. “I have a shoe company sponsor nowadays, who keeps me shod,” he added.
John enjoys his leisured life on the road.
He has never claimed money from the government, asks for nothing, but accepts the kindness of strangers.
“I don’t plan to walk from A to B it’s C or D or anywhere in between.”
And he sets off when he feels like it, with no schedule to keep.
As cars and trucks hurtle past, John adds that the Newell Highway is not the busiest route on his journeys, the Hume has that distinction.
He quite liked the Pacific Highway in its earlier days, but now it’s a multi lane speedway it’s not so appealing.
“It used to be a nice old winding road.”
John doesn’t carry a mobile phone and he sleeps unconcernedly out each night off the side of the road.
“I don’t stay in towns.”
If it’s wet he has his waterproof sheet.
He hears from road users and Facebook followers from time to time who remind him they have spotted him in various parts of the country.
John has no plans to stop walking.
“I just enjoy it.”
He is the carefree wanderer and life on the road looked pretty good.
“People chat to me and talk about their mortgages, their families and other issues,” he said.
“Some tell me they would like to be on the road as well.”
As he set off, John waved farewell, heading west.
His journey will take him anywhere, ‘but not Victoria at the moment,’ he adds. And his solitary life on the road is a safe occupation in the era of COVID.
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