Made in Burnie — Justin Heazlewood on swapping fame for his hometown

Justin Heazlewood fled a complicated early life in Tasmania searching for fame as an artist on the mainland. Recently he moved back to his home town of Burnie, and realised community is where you find it.

Justin Heazlewood grew up in Burnie, a coastal town on the North West coast of Tasmania.

For years he imagined his hometown as somewhere he had to leave, especially if he was going to be any kind of artist.

And there were other, more personal reasons that made staying in Burnie complicated.

Justin's Mum has schizophrenia, and growing up he was often forced into the role of being her carer.

It was something he did his best to hide from his friends and other people in his life.

So after school, Justin headed to the mainland and began a life as a comedian and a songwriter.

But a few years ago, he found himself returning to his home town for good. 

This episode of Conversations explores mental health, caring for parents, parents with mental illness, small towns, leaving your hometown, big city life, regional Australia, creatives in regional Australia, mother son relationships, returning home, community, fame, triple j, bedroom philosopher, radio, writing, music, musicians, learning guitar, grandmothers.

Get Up Mum is published by Affirm Press and Justin's new book, Dream Burnie, celebrates the creative humans like him making art far from the big cities, and some of the teachers who recognised the young artists while they were at school.

You can learn more about Justin's book Dream Burnie online.

The Young Carer's Hotline is open Monday-Friday on 1800 422 737