Julia Zemiro’s Home Delivery: July 1

Guest this week on Julia Zemiro’s Home Delivery is paralympian Kurt Fearnly.

As you turn off the highway in Central Western NSW, there’s a sign that reads ‘Carcoar, the town that time forgot’. But to Paralympian Kurt Fearnly, it’s special. It’s where he thrived as a boy – not just on the love and support of his tight-knit clan, but from the whole community.

Kurt takes Julia on an adventure and as they climb nearby Stokes Hill, he talks about his memories of crawling the track with best friend, ‘Did’, and the mischief they got up to when their parents weren’t around.

They then visit the cottage where he grew up, and meet his mum and dad, who still live there. He tells Julia that his parents afforded him a lot of freedom, and how they, and the townspeople, refused to accept that his disability could prevent him from having a normal life.

And after a tour around the sleepy village, Kurt drives Julia into nearby Blayney High School where he recalls the hardships of moving from a tiny country school into a bustling secondary school. There we meet his teacher, mentor and friend, Maureen ‘Dicko’ Dickson, who first introduced Kurt to wheelchair sport. He explains how important she was to him and how she inspired him to make the choices that ultimately led to his athletic triumphs.

They wrap up their chat in his old playground, with Kurt talking about his love for his home town and the determination that drives him still.

9pm Wednesday on ABC.