My name is Edward. I am from New Zealand and have worked in Australia for the last nine years as a pro chef.
I have been in prison for 10 months now. I have always loved reading your monthly letter. I have been cooking pro for 22 years and have been doing art since I was 15 years of age.
I have done a lot of art courses in NZ including a Degree in Arts. But I still struggle with spelling, but that still never stopped me from getting educated. Since being in prison I have realised so much about how much I relied on money and thinking success was about money. And trying to please too many fake people.
From being blessed with the gifts God has given me I now share it with other inmates. Drawing cards for their loved ones, birthday, anniversaries etc. The prison have noticed my talent and over the last six months I have painted murals at work and in all four pods of our prison. And I am about to paint in the clinic.
After working in so many restaurants in Sydney, why is it that painting these murals means more to me than cooking for thousands of people in the restaurant? The murals are a mixture of landscapes or Australia and animals, with every pod having the Nyora Memorial representing ANZAC. It to me is the only day all nations are one: PNG, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, NZ, Torres Strait, Aboriginal and Australia.
So I have been doing what I have always loved doing – art and cooking. Sharing with inmates what I can make even with the simplest of ingredients. Sometimes that’s all it takes. The simple things in life mean so much more.
So to all the team at About Time, I thank you. We thank you.
My name is Edward. I am from New Zealand and have worked in Australia for the last nine years as a pro chef.
I have been in prison for 10 months now. I have always loved reading your monthly letter. I have been cooking pro for 22 years and have been doing art since I was 15 years of age.
I have done a lot of art courses in NZ including a Degree in Arts. But I still struggle with spelling, but that still never stopped me from getting educated. Since being in prison I have realised so much about how much I relied on money and thinking success was about money. And trying to please too many fake people.
From being blessed with the gifts God has given me I now share it with other inmates. Drawing cards for their loved ones, birthday, anniversaries etc. The prison have noticed my talent and over the last six months I have painted murals at work and in all four pods of our prison. And I am about to paint in the clinic.
After working in so many restaurants in Sydney, why is it that painting these murals means more to me than cooking for thousands of people in the restaurant? The murals are a mixture of landscapes or Australia and animals, with every pod having the Nyora Memorial representing ANZAC. It to me is the only day all nations are one: PNG, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, NZ, Torres Strait, Aboriginal and Australia.
So I have been doing what I have always loved doing – art and cooking. Sharing with inmates what I can make even with the simplest of ingredients. Sometimes that’s all it takes. The simple things in life mean so much more.
So to all the team at About Time, I thank you. We thank you.
Your contributions are the centerpiece of the paper. If you would like to contribute to our Letters section, please send your letters to the below postal address:
Or via email:
On 1 November 2025, QCS introduced a new pricing model: 20 cents per minute for all calls, mobile or local. A call that once cost 30 cents for 15 minutes now costs $3 – a ten-times increase.
I have been incarcerated for 22 months of a four-year sentence in Queensland jails. This poem is about my own situation.
Reading other prisoner’s stories inspired me to keep my head up and keep going now four months in, thank you all who share your stories and words of wisdom.
I moved units about a month ago and we feed some stray cats here. One even let me pat her last night! It's been over a year since I've patted an animal, so you can imagine how excited I was!
Help keep the momentum going. All donations will be vital in providing an essential resource for people in prison and their loved ones.
All donations of $2 or more are tax deductible. If you would like to pay directly into our bank account to avoid the processing fee, please contact donate@abouttime.org.au. ABN 67 667 331 106.
Help us get About Time off the ground. All donations are tax deductible and will be vital in providing an essential resource for people in prison and their loved ones.
Your browser window currently does not have enough height, or is zoomed in too far to view our website content correctly. Once the window reaches the minimum required height or zoom percentage, the content will display automatically.
Alternatively, you can learn more via the links below.
Leave a Comment
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere. uis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.