5 May 2019

Calling Home: Tom Hopkins in Victoria, Australia

From Sunday Morning, 7:45 am on 5 May 2019
Tom Hopkins

Tom Hopkins Photo: supplied

In what is a first for the Calling Home segment, we're heading across the ditch to rural Victoria this week, where we're joined by Auckland-born and bred firefighter Tom 'Hop' Hopkins. The 32-year-old is coming to the end of his fourth fire season in Victoria, and is working with the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning as part of a remote fire rappel crew, with a lot of his time spent in the stunning forests and mountains of The Great Alpine Divide  It's tough and sometimes dangerous work, but Hopkins is very much of the opinion that it's all character-building stuff. He joins Jim to discuss the work he does, Victoria's obsession with AFL culture, and why everyone in Australia has nicknames.