In a childhood defined by suspicion and superstition, one piece of advice stood out for author Tony Birch. It wasn't the violent street philosophy of his retired boxer father, but two simple words from his grandmother Alma Corcoran: 'never weaken'.
A Childhood of Fractured Commandments
Birch describes being raised in a household where the world was perceived as a constant threat. The front door was secured with a chair jammed under the knob, his mother slept with a rolling pin under her pillow, and his father with a crowbar. From a young age, he was drilled with survivalist mantras, like never signing a police statement and his father's principle to 'hit before you get hit'.
Yet, as he grew older, Birch found this aggressive advice failed to help him negotiate life meaningfully. It was the gentle strength of his Nanna that provided the true compass.
The Origin of a Guiding Phrase
The wisdom was imparted during Monday night visits in Fitzroy, before Cubs at Saint Mark's hall. Over roast dinners at her kitchen table, Alma would tell ghost stories from her Tasmanian childhood. When a frightened young Tony asked if she had been scared, she would lean across, tap his nose, and deliver her creed.
'No,' she would say without hesitation. 'Never weaken.'
While similar words from his father would have been a call to violence, from his grandmother they were steeped in courage and tenacity. The full weight of this advice only became clear as Birch learned more about her past.
A Life That Forged Unbreakable Strength
Alma Corcoran's life was marked by profound hardship. She grew up not knowing her parents, escaped Tasmania for Victoria as a teenager, and was widowed when her second husband died by suicide, leaving her with eight children from two marriages.
In an era with little state support, she did whatever was necessary to survive. She ran a sly grog operation from her rented house on George Street, Fitzroy, used the pawnshop economy, and later dabbled in the scrap metal trade. Tragedy struck repeatedly: she lost a son to murder at 18, a daughter to cancer in her twenties, and her youngest son to drugs in the 1980s.
Her ability to endure, Birch realised, was driven by those two words. He witnessed her strength firsthand, noting she was a woman who stood up to violent men, despite her short stature.
A Peaceful End and an Enduring Legacy
In her final weeks in St Vincent's hospital in 1991, Birch sat with his dying grandmother. When she passed, surrounded by family, her face relaxed, appearing peaceful and 20 years younger.
For Tony Birch, now an acclaimed author of novels like Women and Children and The White Girl, the lesson was indelible. True strength comes from within, a resilience forged not in aggression, but in an unwavering spirit. The mantra gifted by his Nanna on those Fitzroy evenings continues to guide him: a powerful, quiet command to persevere. Never weaken.
