Mr Davies was a late call-up for the evening after Narelle Fraser, the high-profile Rochester based police detective scheduled to address the gathering at Hotel Rochester, was forced to abandon her post less than 24 hours before.
It was, in fact, Mr Davies who made organisers — Rotary club president Heather Watson and bowling club president Graham Willis — aware that he was interested in attending as an onlooker.
Once Mrs Fraser became unavailable they snapped up the opportunity to add him to the spesker’s list, alongside Rochester and Elmore District Health Service’s acting chief executive officer Darren Clark and community care manager Mebin Baby.
Mr Davies, who is now a professional speaker (in between working part-time with Kagome), has become known as The Unbreakable Farmer and regularly shares the story of his journey from Tongala farmer to keynote speaker.
His public speaking role is far removed from his foray into dairy farming.
He said his only foray into public speaking was as “seconds’’ coach at Kyabram football club.
“Even that is a stretch as most of those blokes aren’t really listening,” he said.
He did did a speaker’s course in Melbourne and now tells the compelling story of his mental health journey all over Australia.
He told the group that rooms such as this (the billiards room of the Hotel Rochester with 50-plus men crammed into a small space) were where he felt most comfortable.
“I've been fortunate enough to fall into this emergency recovery space when I started on a mission to create awareness of mental health and wellbeing,” he said.
“I know the affects COVID has had in regional communities, let alone with a disaster added to that.
“The second part of my focus is to inspire conversation.”
Mr Davies said being male and being a farmer meant he “was tarred with the same brush’’, being that neither categories were particularly forthcoming with how they were feeling.
"It doesn't come naturally to men, so I am excited about tonight becuase I know how hard it is to get a gig with a room full of blokes.“
He said one of his main objectives was to create a safe environment, free from stigma, where he could act as a conjuit for men to get the necessary help.
After spending the first 14 years of his life in Melbourne, his family moved to the country.
“Until then I had been bullied at school. When we moved up here that went away,” he said.
Tragedy struck Mr Davies and his family when his property was flooded “fence line to fence line’' in 1993.
While the financial impact was extreme, he said more damage was done mentally.
“Two years after that we had a family bust-up and I bought mum and dad out,” he said.
“My wife and I set out a 10-year plan, then the drought hit. Not long after I was a wreck, financially, physically and mentally.”
Mr Davies said the day he left the farm he clicked his identity as a farmer off his body and hung it on the gate.
And he hasn’t looked back.
“A sense of identity is vital and people in Rochester are fighting to keep their identity as many have been forced out of their homes,” he said.
“Evenings like this are important to open up conversations.
“I encourage people to seek help. If you are here, that is the first step.”
He offered some expertise by asking people to begin understanding what brought on emotional responses — then find the tools to respond to those emotions.
“I ask people to create the unbreakable wheel of well-being, by rating their health status from one to five in a variety of categories,” he said.
“Physically you might be a five, but emotionally you might only be a two.
“If all your spokes aren't in tact then your wheel is in trouble.”
Fifty-plus men walked out of the room with a card from the Unbreakable Farmer, who recommended they form a diverse support group of five people to call on in times of need.
He said among the two most important support mechanisms of his five were his dogs.
“I can tell them everything, they may not give me any answers and they really have no choice but to listen. But it allows me to get things off my chest,” he said.
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