“Anyway, I still want to stay in Sydney!”

Hayley Rollason with a fresh ice cream at Dolce and Gelato

She has been living in three states already, was born at the most far away place from everything and doesn’t really like Melbourne.

Newtown is where she spends as much time as possible at the moment after moving to the suburb four years ago.

She is doing her Bachelors at the UTS and thinking of movies all the time. Her favorite subject: Documentaries. Her favorite spot: Newtown. You can easy combine those to passions…

Hayley Rollason in Café C

You wouldn’t expect Hayley Rollason to be only 20 when you meet her. She has brown, curly hair and a bright and pleasing face with shiny eyes, being all smiles when she is talking about her life and Newtown. Hayley loves this suburb as much as her mum does, who spotted Newtown after moving to Sydney five years ago. The 20-year-old girl was born in the Red Centre, Alice Springs, and moved to Darwin when she was five. After a couple of years her family had to move to Brisbane before coming to Sydney. “I haven’t been in Alice Springs since we left,” Hayley says, “but I always tell locals and tourists to go there if they ask me for a nice spot.” She’d love to go back, “but not for living, only for visiting.”

Serving ice cream at her favorite place

Her favorite spot: Her workplace.

Hayley spends as much time as possible in the multicultural suburb. “It’s so close to uni [UTS] and my friends always come around for a coffee. You could spend forever on King Street.” She likes Café C which is just across the road from the post office. “That is where I bring all my friends,” she says. The cozy café is not her favorite spot, though. “No, that is my working place, most definitely. I’m working 30 to 40 hours a week and the people there are amazing!” She is working at Dolce and Gelato near Newtown Train Station, selling ice cream and making beautiful and delicious coffees.

From Hayley with love: Preparing coffee is an art in its own

“Oh I meet so many people at work. We always get really great and really horrible customers coming in. But it is the owners of the ice cream place, too: “They are the most warmhearted people I know,” Hayley says, “I love them.

Presenting her delicious coffee: Hayley at work

It’s fun working for them.” Her favorite customer is working just across the road in a hotel. “He always comes in before his shift starts. He is so talkative and obsessed with the illuminati project. He doesn’t stop talking about it until his coffee gets cold!”

The worst experience is just weeks ago: “It must have been on the City-to-Surf-weekend when this group of young, drunk guys was in front of the shop. One wearing its fat belly and the ways to short shirt and the other one throwing up all the time. Just in front of our shop! It was only two of us working and I had to grab the bucket all the time and clean up!”

Hayley still lives at her parents place. “It’s convenient. And you can safe a lot of money.” She wants to travel with her savings: “I gonna go to Thailand this year for NYE and I want to go to Poland next year in the European winter. I haven’t seen snow in my life so this will be fun.” The young girl has a blues and Spanish guitar obsession; her favorite singer is B.B. King. “That’s why I want to go to New Orleans. And New York. This is the only two places in America I want to go to.”

Hayley’s passion for Newtown is controlling her studies, too. Find out why she choose to make a documentary on Newtown for school and why she really doesn’t like Melbourne – although film opportunities are far better in the capital city of Victoria when getting out of university. Read about Hayley in the second part of this portrait on AYCM.