Peter Dundon

A matter of life or death

A UNE friendship. A tragic loss. An awakening.

Bachelor of Agricultural Economics graduate, Peter "Benny" Dundon, can trace one of the major turning points in his life back to an old friend he met at St Albert's College named John Bourke. Now the Armidale-based Manager of Livestock Exports at Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) and a regular YouTube presenter, Peter is committed to educating others about the importance of good mental health.

"I went right through Albies with Bourkie and we were good mates," Peter says. "One day in late 2015 he turned up at our place in Armidale with his old caravan and stayed a few days. He apologised to me for everything he'd ever done wrong to me and then he left. A short time later he was dead; he'd ended his life at home.

"I felt terribly guilty that I hadn't done enough to help Bourkie. I hadn't realised that that was on the cards; I was ignorant to the signs. He'd gone on a road trip from his home in Esperance, WA, and visited a whole lot of people from our friend group, then driven back to WA.

"We knew he had serious issues; he was very emotional and was drinking, but the biggest problem was that we didn't know what to do. If we had been better equipped and informed, we might have been able to sit down and talk to him, and ask if he was okay."

The journey that Peter has since taken, to learn more about mental ill health and how to be an effective support person, even investing more in his own health and wellbeing, has changed his life. It started with a charity push-up challenge during lockdowns last year and, since reuniting with fellow Albies resident Clare Davis, has blossomed into thoughtful conversations on social media.

"Now, if I'm concerned about someone, I'm prepared to ask them if they are having self-harm or suicidal thoughts; I just tackle it head-on," Peter says. "With Bourkie, I didn't do that, and I'm never going to let that happen again."

His three years at Albies was Peter's first experience of living at close quarters with others. "It was interesting to see how people interacted with one another; to experience the ups and downs of peoples' lives," he says. "It allowed me to build lasting relationships that I've maintained ever since."

From working as a stock inspector with the NSW Department of Agriculture, Peter moved to Victoria to serve as a beef cattle officer, before returning to Armidale to work for the Beef CRC for 11 years. Two years as an MLA contractor in the Middle East parlayed into a five-year stint as the MLA's Livestock Manager based in Bahrain.

"That was great; it is undoubtedly the highlight of my working life," Peter says. "Culturally it was so different, and I looked after Australian livestock exports in about 12 countries."

Returning again to Armidale - "this is where I feel home is" - Peter was pursuing his usual personal fitness activities when an MLA colleague challenged him to do 25 push-ups every day for 25 days to raise awareness of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, anxiety and depression.  "It started out as a physical challenge, but it was really more around mental health," Peter says. "To make my Facebook posts a bit more interesting, I started covering a topic each day, including facts and figures on suicide, anxiety or whatever, and what we can do about it. It opened my mind to how widespread mental health issues are in Australia. Eight suicides a day, six of them are men, and I think most people are not aware of how to pick the signs and provide support."

Clare, herself a Mental Health First Aid Instructor working in the UK, was so inspired by Peter's efforts that she invited him to contribute to her free Mental Health Chats on YouTube. "It's been really interesting for me to learn that a lot of mental health issues relate to one another and accumulate, and that this can lead to death," Peter says. "The majority of people don't know how to recognise a person's cries for help or how to ask the difficult questions."

At MLA, Peter considers himself fortunate to work for a company that invests heavily in the mental and physical health of its staff. "We have wellbeing programs and activities, but many companies don't," he says. "A real stigma persists, particularly for men. Many are still not comfortable admitting they are struggling.

"We're all mental health first aiders to someone in our lives and our role is to work out how best to support that person. We need to create an environment in which they are comfortable sharing stuff, but also know what professional help is available, that we can recommend. It can be the difference between life and death."

Peter believes education around mental health has helped him to establish a better work-family balance in his own life. "In a strange way, the COVID-19 pandemic has helped, too," he says. "I have just finished working from home for a year and, as the manager of a global program, it's been the longest period I have had at home in probably 16 years. It has given me a different perspective on what's important in life.

"I hope it will lead to more flexible work arrangements longer-term in every organisation, as part of commitments to the mental health of staff. The MLA already has very good flexible work arrangements, but I think many office-based workplaces will move to a hybrid model over the next 1-2 years. The productivity gains in some companies have been proven through COVID, and staff are happier and healthier."

Rarely a week goes by without Peter thinking of his friend John Bourke. "After his death, it was like I drew a line in the sand," he says. "Maybe I wouldn't have been able to make a difference, but I'll never know. That depressed or anxious person we encounter today or tomorrow may not be on the verge of ending their life, but such feelings can grow and intensify over time if left unaddressed. We can all help others around us before it evolves into that dangerous space."