By Abbey Cannan
Growing up as a ’navy brat’ and having spent almost 21 years serving in the US Navy, the new Tewantin/Noosa RSL Sub Branch president is more than qualified for the role.
Originally from California, Gino Amarrador moved his family to Noosa four years ago and has been enjoying the lifestyle change.
“Travelling is kind of in my blood,“ he said.
“When I joined the Navy, we filled out a dream sheet and it had three dream places on it and I wrote – ’Australia, Australia, Australia’.
“Throughout my 21 years in the Navy, I never stepped one foot in Australia. So I found it as a challenge to eventually get here.
“We moved straight to an Airbnb in Brisbane and then moved to Boreen Point for about a year and now we’re at Peregian Springs.“
While volunteering at Lake Cootharaba Sailing Club, Gino met a fellow Navy veteran, who asked him to join him on his rescue boat.
“He introduced me to the RSL Sub Branch, as I didn’t really know it existed,“ Gino said.
After standing desk watch for a couple of months at the Tewantin/Noosa RSL Sub Branch, Gino fell into the role of president, with a little nudge from the departing president Adel Amin.
“I’m very honoured to be here,“ he said.
“There’s a lot of good work to do to support the veteran community and that’s what I really look forward to.
“I come from a culture in America where the veteran community and active duty military were very close. And I find that there’s maybe a little bit of a gap here. The gap is getting smaller, as we have a lot of younger veterans from Afghan and Iraq coming in to give some of their time, and hopefully that will continue to grow down the road.
“Anzac Day is also getting bigger and bigger for the local area and I find it great that the community is engaging more and that they bring their kids out for the memorial days as it’s really important.“
Gino said his family was enjoying the lifestyle change following their move prior to the Covid pandemic.
“Coming from California, California has a higher population than the whole of Australia,“ he laughed.
“So when people complain about traffic here in Noosa, it’s not really traffic. You should drive through LA, at 3am in the morning there’s still traffic.
“There’s a lot more nature here. It’s a lot more relaxed which we find a great thing. The beach is just right there, the mountains close by. So we partake in a lot of that, we go on hikes, and the cafes are great.“
Gino said after his wife finishes her PHD and his son finishes high school, they plan on travelling around Australia to see the rest of the country.
“We would like to see Australian culture at its fullness and just experience what its like between the different regions,“ he said.
