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Neighbourhood > Guest Character Profiles > Reuben 'Roo' Hausman Richard Cawthorne

Having been in prison for a robbery he committed with Dylan Timmins in Colac, Reuben Hausman, or Roo, used Dylan’s brother Dwayne to track down his former accomplice in Erinsborough. At the time, Dylan was working for Paul Robinson, threatening tenants to leave squats on land that Paul wanted to use. Realising how much money Dylan was making, Roo decided to tag along with Dylan to one of the buildings, where Dylan was surprised to find two of his neighbours, Sky Mangel and Boyd Hoyland, who’d done a runner from the psychiatric ward of the hospital, where Boyd was being monitored. A confrontation with Roo followed, at which point Boyd collapsed and started having a seizure. Paul was annoyed to find out that Roo had been with Dylan that night, but Dylan explained that Roo had taken the heat for him after the robbery they committed, so he now owed him. Paul disagreed, and warned Dylan that Roo was a loose cannon who he should get rid of as soon as possible.

Soon after, Roo approached Dylan with a plan to rob one of Paul’s businesses, The Scarlet Bar. Dylan was torn between his loyalties to Roo and Paul, but agreed to go along with the robbery and act as the getaway driver. However, remembering what Paul had said about getting rid of Roo, Dylan waited until Roo was inside the bar, then called the police, who captured Roo as he was escaping. Although Dylan was then rid of the thorn in his side, it looked like he had also made himself a dangerous enemy.

After escaping from prison six months later, Roo, along with an accomplice, Terry White, set out for revenge on Dylan. They first kidnapped Dylan’s younger brother, Stingray, after following the siblings for most of the day. Roo then called Dylan and used Stingray as bait to get him to their car, before announcing that Dylan would have to rob a service station, or Stingray would be killed. Dylan went along with the plan and destroyed the evidence. When the CCTV footage of the incident gave the police no leads, Roo was furious that his plan had failed, so he gave an anonymous tip-off about the whereabouts of the gun that Dylan had used. Using partial prints from the gun, Dylan and Stingray were both eventually arrested and charged with the robbery. Although they explained what had actually happened, Roo had disappeared and so they were both sent to prison, Dylan for ten years and Stingray for four.

Paul wasn’t about to see Dylan’s life go down the pan, however, and he concocted a plan to get Roo to own up. Paul tracked him down and offered him $50,000 if he signed a confession which would let Dylan and Stingray off the hook - $25,000 then and another $25,000 when he was released from prison. However, Roo had little chance to agree, as the police had also found him and he was put straight back in Warrinor, in the same wing as the Timmins brothers. As things were beginning to look desperate, the police decided to try one last plan to get Roo to own up. Constable Stuart Parker, a friend and neighbour of the Timmins family, was sent in undercover as new inmate Mick Farrow. However, as Stu settled in as Roo’s new cellmate, he didn’t realise that Roo already knew who he was, having seen Stu with Stingray in Colac whilst he was on the run. After a few days of goading Stu, Roo tried to get him to prove himself by beating up Stingray. At the last minute, Stu realised that he couldn’t go through with it, whilst a riot, organised by Roo, broke out on the C wing, leaving the prison in lockdown. Although Stingray and Stu got out of the cell, Dylan was trapped inside with Roo, who started to threaten him with a knife.

Once alone, Roo admitted that, when he came to Erinsborough and saw how well Dylan was doing for himself with Paul, he was jealous and realised that his life would never be that perfect. He admitted that he’d set Dylan up for the robbery as a result of this and the whole confession was caught on a microphone which had been planted inside a radio in the cell. Dylan and Stingray were released that day and Roo was finally fully punished for his string of crimes.

To read Perfect Blend's interview with Richard Cawthorne, click here.

Biography by Steve

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