WHEN Footscray’s Bob Roest starts singing there’s really no stopping him.
The former sailor might be more at home on the high seas than hitting a high C, yet at 83, he’s still pouring his heart into his two great loves – music and the union movement.
This weekend Bob will mark 12 years with the Victorian Trade Union Choir in the I’ll Be There concert, sharing personal stories, union songs and the rich history of the trade union movement.
“Music has always been a big part of the trade union movement,” Bob says. “You look back to the brass bands in England . . . singing was always a good way for groups of working people to get together.”
He credits a ‘joker’ friend for roping him into the choir by telling the choir master he was looking to join when he had simply dropped by to find some lyrics to the rousing song Joe Hill.
“There are about 20 of us and it’s great. It is all about teamwork, working together.”
A lifelong seafarer and staunch trade unionist, Bob now calls Footscray home.
To celebrate 22 years of voicing support for workers’ rights at picket lines, rallies, protests, strikes, marches, memorials and commemorations, the Victorian Trade Union Choir will take to the Trades Hall stage on Friday and Saturday nights.
Details or bookings: bellaunion.com.au
