29/05/2006

Over the last ten years Australian Story has featured many families of all sorts of background and make-up, but probably none as challenging as the extended household viewers will meet on Monday night.

When Paul Van Reyk set out to have a child more than 20 years ago, he was trying to make a political statement. He says: "It seemed wrong to me that gay men and women were excluded from having children."

So when a single, straight friend wanted to have a child, he agreed to marry her – 'to give the child legal protection' - but with no intention of helping to raise the child, a daughter, Mary. One thing led to another; other friends, straight and gay sought his help, and now Paul Van Reyk has six children with five different mothers - all part of one big extended family with Van Reyk at the centre. He suspects, there may be another half dozen children out there somewhere.

Paul Van Reyk broke the news of his fecundity to his own parents on Fathers Day 2003. They knew about Mary, but not the other children. Paul Van Reyk says: "I said Dad, I've got a special present. I brought out the pictures of all the other kids and I just put them across the table and said 'these are your other grandchildren'.
He was stunned but he just kept grinning..."




PROGRAM EXTRAS

Fathers' Day - Transcript