My name if you hadn't already picked it up is Robert , I was born on the 10th of April 1965 at a home for un wed mothers. I was put up for adoption and was kept in welfare care until I was fit enough to be adopted out. I was adopted into a family of 3 other children who like myself had been put up for adoption.. I was the last child to be adopted out of the four.
My parents Guy and Judith couldn't have children of their own so they decided to adopt. Guy was the youngest child of two, loved by his parents whom had settled from England. Judith was the daughter of a farmers wife Julie . only daughter of four children. Don eing the eldest, then Judith with younger brothers David and Peter ( different father to Mum and Uncle Don) Mum's father had left grandma many years prior and David and Peters father had died.
Guy was a landscape gardener and loved chocolate and coca-cola (these are my memories, so if they are wrong, you better let me know, OR if you want to add anything let me know)
Guy asked Julie if he could marry Mum whilst drunk once so she said no. Later while sober he asked again and the wedding was on. Mum was 18 when she got married.
They were both members of Auckland Christian Fellowship, run then by Gordon and Rob, services were at one stage held in a large white tent until they bought a hall called Haddon Hall in City Rd Auckland. Our family was well known within the church.
Winning awards for learning bible passages and attendance at Sunday School.
In 1972 things changed alot for the little family, a baby was born into the family Jason, I remember crying when I first saw him as I believed that he was going to die, a girl from school had just lost a baby brother because he was so small. Not long afterwards another major thing happened, as the story goes. I let the handbreak off the truck that was in the drive way and it rolled down to the car in the garage that Dad was working on.He ended up in hospital and I ended up living with my grandmother down at Kaiaua.During my time with my grandmother Dad died, leaving Mum with 5 young children. I was still living with my grandmother and didn't really want to return home . But that didn't happen. I have very fond memories of living with my grandmother and her 3rd husband Seddon
I moved back home to be with Mum and the other 4 kids, which also meant being back with all my friends at Glenfield Primary School. Some time later at a working bee at the house a guy showed up to help witht he painting. His name was Barry MacDonald. Little did we know at the time but he was to become our new father. Contact with the Buxton side of the family is now almost lost for good. Dad's parents don't take his death well and morn his death till the day they both die. We moved house to Warkworth for two years during which time Mum and Barry married and a sixth child arrived in the family Racheal, first daughter for Barry ( he had 4 boys from previous marriage). We moved back to Glenfield again to the same house for a little while until it was sold and then to a new house in Birkenhead. During this time I realised that I was different from the others and learnt about being gay, not that I had put a name to it, I learnt that alot later.
This was at the time of Intermediate School, where Peter and I were both in the choir and represented our school in long distance running. College arrived and new friends, new encounters for me anyway,Tracey got removed from the house because they believed that she was a bad influence on us, not that we understood what she had done (at the time). I was more sexually active (late night window exits, after and before school flings). We moved again to Hebron in Mt Albert, a new school property for the church. We still were going to school in Northcote on the shore, being picked up and dropped off in the private school buses.
Finaly 15, school is over, a job, money and freedom (well that was the dream) Gone are the days of paper-runs and collections rag bag collection and book sales. Peter is moved from the house, next it was my turn and then life began.
My first flat wasn't far from house ( I don't call it home, as it wasn't)
My sexuality is known by me and I make up for lost time, out everynight.
Finally the family are aware of it and I am set aside from them all, by order.
This is when I decided to moved to Australia and leave them all behind.
That had to be the quickest version on 15 years in history...But it gives you the basic idea and I didn't tell any horrible stories either, you just have to remember this is my page and my memory
