Rod and Gabi VS Lawrence Mooney

Comedian Lawrence Mooney has Bled Green Since 1987

Lawrence Mooney is coming back to Canberra with his show ‘Dead Set Country’ but it turns out Canberra is practically his second home.

Having lived in Queanbeyan back in the day and now living ‘up the road’ in the Southern Highlands Lawrence is here all the time and even barracks for the Green Machine.

When talking to Rod and Gabi Lawrence revealed an incredible story about why he became a Raiders supporter

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
One of my favorite comedians, and he's been too long
since he's been back to camera. Lawrence Mooning next Friday,
performing at the Camera Theater. Lawrence, gooday and a preemptied
welcome back.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
Thank you very much. It's so nice to be looking
forward to going to the Canbras Theater Center, especially because
it's now just down the road from me. I am
in the southern Highlands of New South Wales and I
commute out of canbra But I saw you guys on
the side of the on the side of a bus.

Speaker 1 (00:27):
Oh you saw the bus for one bars? Yeah, it's
a bus. I'm shopped, Lawrence, because when we saw the
photo on the bus, I was like, oof, my face
is huge and my mouth is open. This is asking
for graffiti, but we haven't seen any.

Speaker 2 (00:42):
Okay, do you know what, boat, If you invite that
kind of graffiti, it means that people are looking at
you and they're absorbing the message.

Speaker 1 (00:53):
What's the message?

Speaker 2 (00:55):
The message is Gabby's on the side of a bus. No,
that I mean an invitation to the show.

Speaker 1 (01:04):
Yes, draw attention.

Speaker 2 (01:08):
Yeah, and if people are having a laugh, it doesn't
matter how you get them laughing or how you get
them interested. Get them interested. Next time I come to Canberra,
I am coming with an airline two hundred texter and
I'm going to hunt that busted out.

Speaker 1 (01:23):
Spoken like a man who may have done just a
bit of casual graffitiing on the side.

Speaker 2 (01:28):
Look, the CNB is a tool that is not utilized enough.
Next time the Reserve Bank put interest rates up again?
Down there, I'm come. Weell banked on the window bank. CNB.

Speaker 1 (01:40):
You know too much about camber now that you're essentially
in an outer suburb the new show. I mean, I'm
interested as a man who we would describe as a
city slicker once upon a time, and you're a country boy.
This is the bush capital. How's your giar going to
play here? You're going to feel more at home than
ever before.

Speaker 2 (01:58):
Perhaps I think so, But you know it is all
about fish out of water, and know this city boy
comes to the country and learns the ropes. And the
show starts with a beautiful nostalgic trip down memory Lane.
Everyone's singing along to Skippy the Bush Kangaroo, and then
I go on a deep dive about Skippy because you know,

(02:19):
for those of you who were born before the phenomenon
three seasons ninety episodes. A young boy and an Eastern
gray kangaroo that was capable of human thought, and the
boy had a preternatural relationship and could communicate with the
kangaroo and they solved crimes and save people from despair
and crisis in the War National Park. And it really

(02:40):
is my stepping off point into the country and into
the bush. And we love the country in Australia, and
we are going to say it just replicates your story.
That is my story. That's who I am. I'd wear
a red and white striped T shirt and me and
my pet kangaroo go around solving crimes out here in

(03:00):
thunder noon.

Speaker 1 (03:02):
You're a country boy at heart. You grew up, as
I guess, in AFL territory. However, are you getting along
to any green machine games? You're taking any interest in
the rugby league?

Speaker 2 (03:13):
Well, my history was Canberra goes back to nineteen eighty
seven when I was I lived there for a year
and was training to be a drug detected dog handler
with I know, mind blowing. I was a law enforcement
officer for six years. There you go, don't you? Pigeonhole

(03:36):
mete and I'm using last year tider interesting thing about
that is people go you law enforcement hold on drug detection,
and they will say, you know, as a customs officer,
as a drug detected dog handler, did you find many drugs?
And my honest and pat response is I found a
lot more as a comedian than I ever did to

(04:00):
the customs officer. I was going to ask you to
declare them to me.

Speaker 1 (04:03):
Now I'm going to ask if you went into that
job so you could learn how to hide them.

Speaker 2 (04:09):
Well, everyone knows exactly where I hide them. And that's
the great trick. If you're importing drugs into this country,
hide them up a dog's bottom because other dogs will
sniff that bottom and they'll just go, no, nothn't there.
It's just normal.

Speaker 1 (04:21):
Is genius. At the moment, Aquis are listening to this
and they're going to shut this entire operation down. You've
said too much.

Speaker 2 (04:29):
Long story long. I was living in Canberra and so
I started. In fact, I was staying in the Queenbean
Hotel when the canber Raiders home ground was is it
Seaford Oval, Yeah, And so every second satday would go
over there. Steve Walter's girlfriend was a receptionist at the
Queenbean hotel and I became a Raider in nineteen eighty seven.

(04:50):
It was the beginning of a very very purple patch
for US. But after the game, because I knew the
Walters brothers, Hevy was playing for Raised B back then,
you know, they come under the stand, you know, into
the rooms and there's Sam Becker and Larry Daily and
I think maybe even Ricky Stewart might have been playing

(05:11):
back then. And so you know, all these guys are there,
and who else is there? Bob Hawke's there, the Prime
Minister of Australia, who I was introduced to by a
guy called Fred Daly who had written a book from
Kurn m Kerr, and I was a political junkie way
back then. I'd read it in year twelve. I said, oh,
mister Daily, I've read your book. He said, hey, Son,

(05:32):
would you like to meet the Prime Minister of Australia?
And I did a little bit of we in my
pants and yes, and Bob say, what are you doing?
What are you doing here, Lawrence? I said, I'm training
is a drug detective dog. Andrew he goes you one
of the great star owners.

Speaker 1 (05:55):
And one of the great prime ministers. I have seen
photos of then Prime Minister Bob Hawke in the in
the sheds over the years. But I suppose I'd never
joined the dots, that perhaps they were from Seaford. That
is an extraordinary story. We'll hear more amazing stories as
part of the new show Dead Set Country. It's next
Friday night at the Canberra Theater Go quickly if you

(06:18):
want to get tickets before they're all gone.

Speaker 2 (06:20):
Tens of people have been queuing for seconds and the
tickets left.

Speaker 1 (06:24):
Well, we say thank you for coming back, but the
reality is you're here now and we left. Well, you're right,
you've been here since nine to eighty whatever. Good to
chat again, mate, can't wait to see you next Friday night.
Get your tickets now the Canberra Theater Center.

Speaker 2 (06:38):
Thanks right, Thanks Gabby, Thanks Canbra