Why one man's travelling journey helped him recover from the loss of his wife and only child
Frankie Newman lives alone in Romford, Essex, and speaks of the journey he embarked upon 50 years ago after a sudden end to his marriage, where to this day still has no contact to either his ex-wife or grown child.
Sidney Fairbank was given the chance to speak to him about his journeys across the globe, and how they helped him overcome the heart-breaking situation he found himself in.
Q: Tell me about the inspiration behind you travelling – was there always a passion to travel?
A: No not initially, I never had the intention of travelling the whole world, of course there were some places I wanted to visit, like when on family holidays, but never hitchhiking and backpacking. I guess it began shortly after my wife unexpectedly walked out on me, taking my daughter with her. She left me alone with no family and my parents living miles and miles away. I was left with nothing really. It was from there that I decided to travel and make a go of things for myself. I didn’t want to go and find another woman or marriage as what she did really hurt me, and in some ways worried me that my next wife would do the same. I didn’t ever see myself as a bad person, nor did she I hope, but I just wanted to do something independently.
Q: How did that affect you? Considering you still haven’t seen your daughter to this day, do you not wonder what life could have been if your wife never left?
A: When it initially happened, I was in a very bad place, I didn’t know what to do nor did I think I would ever recover from it. As a few weeks passed, I thought about myself being a firm believer in everything happening for a reason. Therefore, in hindsight if my wife never left me so suddenly, I’d never have these memories to share, and I honestly couldn’t imagine my life like that – it was a massive chunk of it. Of course, I’d love to see my daughter today, but really, I’ve lost so much time that I could have spent with her that I think I would never feel that fatherly figure.
Q: Tell me about your time in Australia – how were you able to survive out there for so long, considering when you arrived you had only $25 to your name?
A: The first thing I did when I arrived was look for a cheap hotel and a job. I stayed in a hotel for $1 a night for 4 days and got a job with a man I’d met on the ship over to Australia. Initially, I had a job tarmacking the roads for a few months, which was actually well-paid. Then a friend that I’d met out there went on to get a job with a mining company and told me to apply – it was good money, accommodation paid for, and lots of holiday. I worked as an electrical trades assistant In Perth, where I met some aboriginals. The company I was working for was called “Robe River Iron Associates”. I stayed at that job for roughly 12 years, and that is where I was really able to start a new life. Before that I was simply backpacking, which was great for clearing my head and helping me to recover from the situation but living in Australia was like starting a new life.
Q: Tell me more about your time backpacking, where did you visit?
A: I got a taste for travelling back in 1968, when I went to Mallorca with some friends. From there, I went all over the place. From France all the way to Yugoslavia. You name a place and I bet you I’ve been there! I even visited Iran and Afghanistan, where I had to cross the countries in order to get to Malaysia. Travelling truly is a great experience, and I wanted to get that experience while I was young.
Q: What was the most frightening experience you encountered?
A: Without a doubt when my friend screamed at me that I had a Black Widow sitting on my shoulder. I pushed it off – why I touched it I still don’t know – and it fell to a small electrical stand near my foot. While on the topic of spiders, another experience I encountered with one was when I found my boot to be infested with them. Every day before work in the mines we were forced to turn our boots upside down and check for spiders, scorpions and snakes. Thankfully enough I never found a scorpion!
Q: One final question – what, actually, have you learned from your life on the road; what do you do now?
A: I learned so much from my experience away from home. I think most importantly I learned to never take life for granted. I never expected my wife would leave me and that I’d never see her again. I never expected that I would ever travel the world. But both of those happened. I learned about different cultures, cuisines and types of living. I look at the area I’m currently in now and see how it compares for example with the aboriginals in Australia. I’m now retired, but I do get lonely, so I volunteer at a charity shop called Sense, I only do eight hours a week but it’s nice to have company. Apart from that I take my dog out for a walk and visit my brothers and sisters.