Pretty cafes nestled between Colonial buildings and old water wheels.

But just a stone’s throw from the historic centre are dozens of men and women camped out along the Hawkesbury River.

It may sound like something from a Henry Lawson or Banjo Patterson verse, but there is nothing poetic about their existence.

It is a brutal, unforgiving fight for survival.

“Unless you have been homeless you can never really know how bad it is,” Gordan, who has been living along the Hawkesbury for six years, says.

“It is a desperate situation and that’s why people turn to drink and drugs. They feel helpless. They are just waiting it out until they die.”

Gordan is living proof that anyone can end up homeless.

The Leichhardt born and raised 61-year-old enjoyed a successful career at various government departments before working in aged care.

He owned a home in Leichhardt and had two investment properties in Granville and Marrickville.

Approaching retirement he decided to open a little cafe in Windsor with his partner Bill, 67.

But he soon fell into financial difficulties.

“I had to sell the properties to keep the cafe going and then in a year it was all gone. It just shows it can happen to anyone.”

The couple have spent the last six years living on the banks of the Hawkesbury and don’t see their situation changing any time soon.

“Once you end up here it is near impossible to get out,” he said. “But it’s OK here. At least I’m not in the city taking shelter in a shop front.”

The homeless community, like any community, is varied, Gordan says.

There are former nurses, business owners and chefs among their number. There are those suffering with mental illness, others who can’t work because of injuries and women escaping abusive partners. One elderly man living by the river is in the grips of dementia.

Some live in old cars or clapped out camper vans but most have nothing more than a thin piece of canvas protecting them from the elements.

The winters in the Hawkesbury are bitterly cold, with the mercury regularly dipping into minus figures. The summers are just as bad with temperatures in the mid to high 40s not uncommon.

“The summers can be awful,” Gordan says. “The sun burns you and robs you of all your energy, it’s just horrendous. I just stay in the river all day. It’s all you can do.

“As for the winters, they get very cold. We light fires to stay warm and luckily we have our angel.”

That angel is Linda Strickland who runs the Hawkesbury’s Helping Hands (HHH) charity with her daughter Cassidy.

Linda set up the group in 2011 when then eight-year-old Cassidy saw a man rummaging in their bins looking for food.

“It was quite shocking, my first real experience of homelessness in the area. I knew I had to do something,” she says.

The pair, who are previous winners of the Daily Telegraph’s Pride of Australia Award, provide food, emergency hampers and other services.

“Around Windsor there are probably around 45 people that are homeless at the moment,” Linda said. “It’s housing, people can’t afford it. And once you are on the streets it is very difficult to get off.”

That hopelessness is what breaks many, Gordan says, and often leads to drink and drug addiction.

“Once you’re homeless you’re absolutely buggered. To get out you’ve got no chance. You are fighting a losing battle.

“Many of the men here are old labourers and their bodies are just clapped out. How are they going to get another labouring job when they are up against a fit and healthy 19-year-old? Labouring is all they know. It is a hopeless situation.”

Not all locals are supportive of Linda and Cassidy’s efforts. They claim their incredible support attracts more homeless people to the area.

But Linda is resolute. “How can you sit around and do nothing when you know there are people out there suffering?”

To help HHH visit hawkesburyhelpinghands.org.au.