The ability to travel the world is what attracted Warrant Officer Andrew ‘Possum’ Freame to Navy life 50 years ago.
Warrant Officer Freame celebrated the half century of service milestone after joining as a junior recruit at HMAS Leeuwin in Fremantle, WA, in 1974.
The 66-year-old said he had no regrets from his lifetime of service, which began as a fire control rate (gunnery).
“Mum and Dad told me that when I was little I always talked about wanting to be in the Navy, they never really understood why,” Warrant Officer Freame said.
“I was in the Navy cadets in Tasmania for four years before I enlisted, sailing on the Derwent River on a Saturday and parading on a Friday night.”
Warrant Officer Freame recently received his gold service medallion from the Warrant Officer of the Navy and also gazetted a third Federation Star to mark his 50 years of service.
“My first deployment outside of Australia was to celebrate 200 years of United States independence in 1976 … including port visits to San Diego, San Francisco, Esquimalt in British Columbia, Pearl Harbor and Suava,” Warrant Officer Freame said.
“The highlight from this deployment was the port visit to Pago Pago, the capital of American Samoa.”
He said life in the Navy had included many overseas adventures, including to American Somoa in the 70s where he saw the influence of American culture on a South Pacific country.
Warrant Officer Freame was just 16-and-a-half years old when he trained and lived for a year at HMAS Leeuwin and said he “enjoyed the hell out of it”.
He acknowledged the many terrific colleagues who had supported him over the years, with a special mention for Rear Admiral (retd) Rayden Gates.
“I had a reputation for being a bit of a ‘runner’, which basically means I enjoyed going ashore and having a good time,” Warrant Officer Freame said.
Warrant Officer Freame now lives in Wangi Wangi, NSW, with his wife Chrys and is looking forward to getting more actively involved in the Wangi Sub Branch RSL and the local Men’s Shed since retiring on October 16.
