“I think Tasmania is one of the greatest places in the world and I just don’t see why we aren’t the front runners of the green movement, the front runners of medical research”
Essie Davis on the Jimmy & Nath Show
In the summer of 2020, Essie Davis joined Instagram for a very good reason ! She was raising funds for the Royal Hobart Hospital Research Foundation as an ambassador for their charity abseil (The Edge). Every year since 2012, participants have abseiled down Wrest Point, the tallest building in Hobart, to raise money for medical research.
Essie had an initial goal of $5000 but managed to raise $22,000 for medical research ! She mentioned being particularly interested in the fields of youth mental health and dementia. She also “killed two birds with one stone” (but instead of killing them, she was actually saving them !) : by wearing a hand sewn Orange-Bellied Parrot costume, she raised awareness for this endangered Tasmanian bird. Check out the RHH Research Foundation Facebook page for a video of Essie in her costume happily thanking donors right before going over the edge.
It was no easy feat for Essie ! Despite doing some of her stunts in the past, she is very afraid of heights, but didn’t let that stop her. “Doing things that scare you is one of the greatest things you can do for yourself because whenever you take the leap you learn something and it makes you feel like a new person”, she told Jane Longhurst on ABC Hobart.
The 2020 Abseil was the first one that happened on Father’s Day, a tradition since. This was another motivation for Essie, whose father celebrated his 90th birthday just before the abseil.
Here are a couple of radio interviews Essie did ahead of the event :
📸 Derek Hickman / Tomorrow’s Memories Photography
Head to our gallery for more pictures from the abseil !
Essie Davis Daily 