Suicide awareness and prevention

September 10, 2026

By Dave Macmurray

Suicide!

Suicide is a word you'll hear often at the Oberon Men's Shed Suicide Prevention, Depression and Anxiety Event coming up on 26th November 2026.

"What did I miss?" That's a question often asked in the event of a suicide. Well, most likely nothing.

You'll find out why at this event presented by the Australian Men's Sheds Association (AMSA) and Talk2MeBro.

Beth Gow, representing AMSA joined with Oberon Men's Shed yesterday to start to bring all the threads together that will make one the most informative and important talks in Oberon in the past couple of decades.

Suicide is confronting yet you'll learn plenty of tips on what to do and say to someone that maybe a friend or even a close relative. You'll learn what happens in the aftermath and the services available in such a tragic occurrence. The discussion will be heavy, but uplifting at the same time.

There will be at least four speakers; two locals and one each from AMSA and Talk2MeBro respectively discussing the prevention of suicide and what support is available should a tragic suicide occur. There will be no sugarcoating the subject of suicide because you can't.

A variety of health stands are being put together, and they will be disclosed as they are confirmed. To everyone reading this, please put aside three to four hours of the 26th of November and come along to possibly the most important discussion you'll hear in Oberon for a long time. You don't have to be a member of the Oberon community but can be from anywhere you can reasonably travel from in the Central Tablelands/Central West.

If you would like to offer support to the event, please contact the Oberon Men's Shed. It'll cost you nothing and all we ask in return that you spread the word in your communities. You can be an association, a business or even a sole trader. Inner Wheel Oberon is the latest supporter. Supporters so far are:

Andrew Gee, Independent Member for Calare
Hon Rose Jackson, State Minister for Mental Health
Hon Stephen Lawrence MLC
Paul Toole, State Member for Bathurst and Shadow Minister for Regional Transport and Roads
Oberon Council
Oberon Neighbourhood Centre
Oberon Multi-Purpose Service Community Health
Oberon Pharmacy
Oberon Post Office
Oberon Headquarters RFS
NSW SES Oberon Unit
Oberon Business and Tourism Association
Columbia Aged Care Service - Oberon Village
Oberon Medical Centre
Inner Wheel Oberon
Oberon Hospital Auxiliary

The following is a talk I prepared for Lifeline's "Out of the shadows" walk in Penrith in September 2014. It is still relevant today even if the numbers have changed.

People might ask why it is important to publicly talk about suicide, with some even suggesting that mentioning it might encourage it. It's important because it takes more lives than road accidents (2,535 versus 1,310 in 2012, the last year for which comparable figures are available), but it has been a taboo subject for years. (My great-uncle shot himself, but the family mythology was that it was an accident.)

I'm one of the lucky ones. I've suffered from depression for years, but I have never contemplated suicide. I'm lucky in another way, because it was averted when it came very close to claiming people I love. I hope that I never again have to utter magic words that take me and a patient to the front of the queue in a packed emergency department waiting room on a Saturday night. I hope that I never again have to hear a doctor say the words "I think we've saved her". I hope that I never again have to pass through a succession of locked doors in a hospital to get to visit someone who is under 24 hour supervision to prevent self-harm. I hope that I never again have to drive to places with high cliffs to talk someone back from the edge because they had stopped taking medication. (While driving that day I heard a quack on the radio advising people to stop taking psychiatric drugs and use herbs instead, because there is no such thing as mental illness. The word "rage" was inadequate to describe my emotion.)

It is important to talk about suicide, to bring it out as the slogan for today says "into the light". It has been a taboo for too long, but by removing the stigma it will become possible for those in the depths of despair to reach out without shame or embarrassment, for listeners to respond with sympathy and help, not criticism. At a government level, millions of dollars are spent each year on road safety but the number of suicides is twice the road toll and mental health is a low priority. Actions like this one today will help to break down the taboo and hopefully lead to this very serious social and health problem getting the attention, and answers, that it deserves. It also shows that families who have been affected by suicide are not alone and that there are others who understand and sympathise with their pain and loss.