Life comes with many twists and turns; nobody knows this better than Robert Agius.
Robert was born in Sydney and is the oldest of three. At the age of ten, the family packed up and moved to Queensland, where he spent most of his teenage years calling the south side of Brisbane home.
With a reminiscent smile, Robert says, “Growing up, I was a good boy who never got caught. My life was very much outdoors. I was into motorbiking, fishing, and 4-wheel driving and loved hanging out with my mates. I couldn’t wait to get my license.
“Just before my eighteenth birthday, I had a serious car accident that left me in the spinal unit in Brisbane. I spent nine months in the hospital and was left a quadriplegic.
“As a teenage boy on the cusp of adulthood, I had been on the verge of leaving home and gaining my independence, and in the blink of an eye, everything changed. It was a difficult time. Establishing a path forward from there was not easy and took quite a while to figure out.
“You get an understanding that death is final and that there is a lot out there still to do. You’ve got to accept that life is never going to be the same, but at the same time, it doesn’t have to be bad, just different.
“Over time, you learn how to adapt and work out ways to achieve the essentials, like how to hold a stubby (laughs).
Robert has never let his disability define who he is as a person. He keeps a positive mindset and doesn’t let much get him down.
Having recently celebrated his fifty-fourth birthday, Robert has come to realise that he has had a lot of opportunities in life that he would probably never have had if he wasn’t in a chair.
Robert has much to be proud of, including being part of a group that started the first quad rugby team in Queensland. The group then got selected to go down to the institute of sport, which Robert describes as being a real eye-opener. Now, quad rugby is classed as an Olympic sport.
When he moved to Hervey Bay with his wife Fay close to nineteen years ago, he decided he wanted to get back into fishing. Robert began trying to develop a fishing rod holder for his wheelchair that would assist him and many others in getting back to what they loved - fishing!
“Developing the product is an ongoing process. But I am happy with my current design. I have caught fish of all sizes with it, from bream and mackerel to large sharks. Some catches have definitely put the rod holder to the test.
Not long after that, orders started coming in, leading to Reel Keen Powerchair Fishing being established nearly fifteen years ago.
“There are many kinds of fish in the bay all year round. You just need to know when, where, and how to do it”.
Robert says, “My disability has enabled me to pursue something that I love to do and created a path for myself and others with disabilities who like to fish. If I was an able-bodied person, who knows, I might have been stuck in a full-time job doing something I hate and waiting to go out fishing once a month.
Robert and Fay enjoy travelling, live shows, going to the movies and eating out when they can. Robert also loves his birds and keeps colourful Gouldian Finches that are usually found northwest of the Kimberleys.
They both look forward to whatever adventure awaits.
By Kim Parnell
What’s On Fraser Coast Magazine
