Throwing the book at rampant rural suicide

ALMOST two decades have passed since Pat McDermott’s younger brother Matthew hung himself from a peppercorn tree in rural NSW.

Pat McDermott - Resurrection - Temora Story

ALMOST two decades have passed since Pat McDermott’s younger brother Matthew, then aged 28, hanged himself from a peppercorn tree in the outskirts of Temora in rural NSW.

Six weeks earlier, he had been accused of indecently touching four girls during a game of touch rugby at the school where he taught. His passing and the emotions it unleashed have haunted Ms McDermott and inform her book, Resurrection.

It is an exploration of male suicide, rural isolation, and the treatment of sexual misconduct and bullying in Australia’s education system. “These weren’t nice things to write about; to write about suicide, to write about forgiveness, to write about my own guilt,” she says.

The tragedy divided Temora’s community in 1996 . Many believed Matthew had been the target of a naive vendetta. Others, including state Liberal MP Marie Ficarra, blamed authorities. “The inaction of the Department of School Education possibly, if not probably, led to the tragic death of ... Matthew McDermott,” she told parliament.

Ms McDermott hopes her book will spread awareness about the gendered reality of suicide in Australia — that men account for 80 per cent of deaths by suicide. Research released last year from the Young and Well Co-operative Research Centre estimates one in 10 young men in rural, regional and remote NSW have thought about taking their lives and one in five young Australian men between 16 and 25 felt it was not worth living.

As he faced the accusations, Matthew McDermott needed acute care, which could only have occurred in a society that was “suicide aware”, says Ms McDermott. “I don’t know if this situation arose today in Temora he would still survive.”

Ms McDermott regrets her brother was assumed guilty until proven innocent, but stresses the book does not seek to avenge his death. “If it was about revenge, their names would be up in lights, but revenge kills you.”

Resurrection will be distributed to bereavement and suicide support groups. “After decades of suffering, I think there are people out there bereaved by suicide and I hope that this might help.”

Resurrection is published by Jane Curry Publishing.

If you are depressed or contemplating suicide, help is available at Lifeline on 131 114