\u201cIt\u2019s about 28 of the world\u2019s greatest speeches, from Martin Luther King – thus the name, to the Kennedy\u2019s and Paul Keating\u2019s speech at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Gallipoli,\u201d Hayes said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen it\u2019s mixed with true war stories, like Wireless in the Broom at Changi Prison, and mixed with many other poems.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a hard job. Each speech was over 30 pages, so I convert that back to six verses. You might read four of five paragraphs to get two lines, and then you mould them together.\u201d<\/p>\n
I Have a Dream<\/em> is the 14th such work by Hayes, and each one has seen the proceeds from sales donated back to a charity.<\/p>\n He\u2019s launched his works in every state of Australia and supported causes like Shannon\u2019s Bridge at Creswick, motor neurone disease research, and the Oberon RSL in New South Wales.<\/p>\n \u201cAll the money in the world is not worth a cent,\u201d Hayes said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe world\u2019s been good to me, and I have my health. The satisfaction I get out of this is bloody fantastic.<\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter what charity it is, and there\u2019s thousands of them, I just want people to support them.\u201d<\/p>\n Hayes\u2019 creative choice to write in six verse prose, often taking quite complex ideas and converting them into short, sharp stanzas is a simple one, he said it makes the works accessible.<\/p>\n \u201cI launched a book in Western Australia, at Cervantes on the coast, and the chairman of the shire said, \u2018it\u2019s much easier to learn history in six verses\u2019,\u201d Hayes said.<\/p>\n \u201cNot the detail, but certainly easier learn about that part of history in six verses than reading 200 pages.\u201d<\/p>\n Local footy hero Gerard FitzGerald, who helped launch I Have a Dream<\/em>, agreed and said Hayes\u2019 works made readers want to go further and learn more.<\/p>\n \u201cI loved it and I loved the way it\u2019s written,\u201d he said. \u201cThe format in which Noel\u2019s written, it then leads you on.<\/p>\n \u201cI actually went and Googled Abraham Lincoln\u2019s famous words, and others. It makes you move on with your thinking as you\u2019re reading, because it\u2019s so readable and topical.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr FitzGerald said his long involvement with Legacy, and friendship with Hayes, made supporting the book launch an easy thing to do.<\/p>\n \u201cMy father was a Legatee,\u201d he said. \u201cWe weren\u2019t beneficiaries of Legacy, but we understood Legacy from a very early age.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the things that makes Legacy so important, and such a significant part of our fabric, is authenticity, it\u2019s humble beginnings to the mighty organisation it is now.<\/p>\n \u201cWe should all be very proud of Legacy, but understand it still needs support, which is what Noel is doing.\u201d<\/p>\n The idea for Hayes to write a book of verse in support of Ballarat Legacy came about a few years ago, and while the launch had to be held off in 2019 due to COVID, branch secretary Peta Gillespie said the money raised from sales would stay local.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have 35 children we look after now,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople don\u2019t realise that because of the fourth-generation vets – Afghanistan, Iraq, East Timor – so all these modern vets, who have mental health issues etcetera, we support those families. That\u2019s why we have so many more children.<\/p>\n \u201cTen years ago we had two kids.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2021\/05\/IMG_1596-200x300.jpg\")