What took nine years to grow was gone in just minutes on Saturday, as Connor Laurie made good on his pledge to cut off his dreadlocks to raise funds for Movember.
Friends, family and supporters gathered at The Grosvenor to support the 26-year-old bar manager as his wife Renee and dad Craig took to his dreads with scissors and clippers, leaving him bald, but still bearded.
The shock of his scalp seeing daylight was softened by the amount of money raised for men’s mental health.
Mr Laurie’s original target of $2000 was rapidly exceeded, and the final tally meant a $4580 donation was made to Movember.
"I’m extremely happy with how things went," he said.
"There were more people there than we expected, and when we went round the pubs on the Saturday night, people were handing me $50 notes, and we raised another $300 from that."
Mr Laurie said every dollar raised would fund crucial initiatives for men’s health.
"The money that we are donating will help our children and grandchildren, so everyone gets a pat on the back for that."
Mr Laurie said he was optimistic about the future of mental health support for men.
"Hopefully in the future, it [mental health] will be treated the same as physical health."
Depression has been a constant companion since Mr Laurie was a teenager.
He set out to raise funds for Movember to ensure that the support he had received continued to be available.
In the process, he has seen his home town in a new light.
"It’s been amazing how much the community pulled together, and put all that money towards it.
"I’ve lived here most of my life, and sometimes it’s felt like there was a dark cloud over it, but this has shown how many good people there are and how much they support this sort of thing.
"A big thank you to everyone who donated."
