RANDALL Gawne would probably describe himself as an ordinary bloke just doing his job.
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But one look at the amazing career of Marine Rescue Port Macquarie's regional operations manager, you will agree it is far from that.
Mr Gawne was honoured at a ceremony in Port Macquarie on November 17 for 35 years service to Marine Rescue, with most of that time dedicated as a volunteer.
He was humble in receiving his second clasp from Member for Cowper Pat Conaghan and Marine Rescue NSW Commissioner Stacey Tannos.
His career has not always been on the water.
From 1977 to 1990, Mr Gawne was a member of the original ACT police force which amalgamated to become the Australian Federal Police.
He worked on general duties cases through to sudden deaths, serious assaults, armed robberies, drunken brawls, drug-related matters and violence.
He moved to the traffic branch where he investigated accidents through to providing VIP escorts for the likes of the Governor General and the Royal family. He was the youngest police driver training instructor at just 26 years, teaching police driving courses from pursuits to anti-terrorism.
Mr Gawne spent three years in the United Nations peacekeeping force in Cyprus where he gained his pilot's licence. It was a classified war zone at the time which saw him patrolling the UN buffer zone between the Turkish and Greek Cypriots to maintain an uncertain peace between them.
It was this work that saw many of his colleagues return home and face a new battle with PTSD.
Mr Gawne moved into the breath analysis unit where he was officer in charge and he remains the holder of the record for the largest number of court cases heard in an ACT courtroom in one day - 217.
Between July 1995 and July 2016, he was a member of the Queensland police service working at Yeppoon where he became a member of the water police.
From there he transitioned into a role on the water at Thursday Island where he was officer in charge covering an area containing 16 islands and a population of 9000.
He founded a marine safety program which saw the number of rescues performed each year reduce from 200 to as low as 80. Mr Gawne played an integral role in teaching Torres Strait school kids about water safety and campaigned to provide them all with free life jackets.
Since November 2016, he has been the regional operations manager for Marine Rescue Mid North Coast.
Mr Gawne is on call 24/7 for all marine related incidents from search and rescue to whale entanglements.
Highlights of his exceptional career are not focused on what he has achieved but the impact he has had on the lives of others.
A man flew from Cairns to Thursday Island just to shake his hand and say thank you - "you saved my brother's life", the grateful stranger said.
"This means a lot to me. It means a lot to all our volunteers as well to see recognition of the service they give," he said.
"I've worked with a lot of really good people and that makes the service a lot easier."
Cowper MP Pat Conaghan said volunteerism is at the heart of every community.
"Thirty-five years in any industry is commendable. It's time that all volunteers give freely and they put lives on the line to make sure we're safe," Mr Conaghan said.
"It's an incredible 35 years in a job that is dangerous, you've put your life on the line and for a vast period done it as a volunteer."
Commissioner Tannos echoed those words and said the volunteers of Marine Rescue are an important arm of every community's first response teams.
"You have done an enormous amount of work across many fields and in different environments, all at times have been life threatening and have been above and beyond what any normal person is required to do or face in their lifetime."
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