Every week in Three Things, we ask prominent Australians what they’d save from their house in a fire. For most subjects in this column, it’s a hypothetical question. But actor Kerry Armstrong really did have her house burn down – some 24 years ago now – and in a twist of fate managed to save a trio of artworks made by her three boys when they were little.
That house fire is not the only loss the actor has faced. Her “first great love”, Australian Crawl guitarist Brad Robinson, died from cancer in 1996. The pair married in 1981 when she was 23 and divorced later that decade so Armstrong could marry an American friend and get the green card that would allow her to work in the US. The plan was for her and Robinson to later get back together but “as it is in life, that didn’t work out”, Armstrong has previously explained.
The Melbourne-born talent stayed in the US for a spell, later returning to Australia and nabbing unforgettable roles in ABC series SeaChange and the film Lantana. She remarried twice and had her sons Sam, Callum and Jai.
Armstrong’s latest acting gig is in the new Sydney Theatre Company production Into the Shimmering World, where she stars alongside Colin Friels in a quintessentially Australian story about a farming couple on the precipice of life-altering change.
Here, Armstrong tells us about those singed but precious paintings done by her sons, as well as sharing the story of the cherished item she was sadly separated from – and still mourns the loss of.
What I’d save from my house in a fire
When my three sons were [primary school age], they each made me a painting that I loved and had framed. Sam’s was a multicoloured bird wearing a party hat, Jai painted seven Buddhas, all unique, and Cal drew a puppy lost in the desert, turning to a bigger dog saying, “You don’t always find your way by your brain, sometimes you have to find your way with your heart.”
Our home actually did burn down in a house fire, and we lost everything, but all three paintings were saved.
The fire was caused by a faulty wall heater in 2000. We were living in our cottage in Eltham, Victoria. It was our final day of filming for SeaChange, and with three boys under 10, we had to have everything packed the night before to leave early. I’ve been forever grateful for that early start because the firefighters told us the fire must have begun slowly in the roof that night, and not long after we left, the flames were so high that our home was completely destroyed.
Those pictures remind me of how lucky we all were to survive. You can still see where the Buddhas got a little singed.
My most useful object
It would probably be my yoga mat. Even though it sounds a bit wanky, it reminds me to keep on encouraging this body of mine to stay strong and supple so that I can move into my days with fewer groans and more grace.
The item I most regret losing
My engagement ring from Brad Robinson. We were so young and a struggling musician and actor, so when Brad took me to the jewellery store, I chose a sparkly but tiny diamond. But unbeknownst to me, after I left, the jeweller suggested Brad make it bigger and added two emeralds on either side, shaped like leaves so the ring ended up looking like a beautiful rose. I’m pretty sure Braddy didn’t eat for about six months to pay for that ring.
He gave it to me at the bottom of a water slide in Surfers Paradise. He’d hidden it in his board shorts. I went down the waterslide and there was Brad, holding up the ring and beaming!
When I was playing Juliet in Romeo & Juliet in New York I had to take it off, so I left it in our apartment. We were living in a street that was a renowned drug strip in a pretty rough area. Thieves went through our apartment and stole my ring. I remember that was a “Welcome to New York” kind of moment. I was absolutely devastated.
Kerry Armstrong stars in Into the Shimmering World by Sydney Theatre Company at Wharf theatre from 8 April to 19 May 2024.
