Before Art
1963-66 Indentured for four years with Email Ltd (Orange) and successfully completed a Fitting and Turning (Toolmaking) apprenticeship.
1967-68 Employed by Email Ltd as a Draughtsman in press tool, jig and fixture design and prototyping of Westinghouse appliances.
1969-77 Travelling and working overseas with several return visits to Australia.
Throughout this period Fred was employed as a mechanic, courier and tour leader by Asian Greyhound Ltd. Apart from two extended periods working as a Diesel Fitter in the London workshop, most of his time was spent on tour between London and India/Nepal. In the 1975-76 trekking season in Nepal, Fred was also Joint Operation Leader for Sherpa Himalayan Expeditions.
During his short return visits to Australia, Fred worked as a production line foreman, a sheet metal worker, a roustabout and a Fitter during the deconstruction of the Rum Jungle uranium mine.
1977-80 Employed in Melbourne by Contract Drafting Services as a Design Draughtsman. Projects included general engineering design and detailing, car body assembly tooling, and jig and fixture design for clients such as Ford Motor Company, A.M.I. (Toyota), Borg-Warner and International Harvester.
During this period Fred was also involved in establishing an Australian based tour company specialising in walking and rafting in the Himalayan region.
1980-81 Purchased and operated an offset printing business, Melbourne.
1982 Employed by Contract Drafting Services as a Design Draughtsman on Contract to General Motors Holden, Melbourne.
1983-84 Completed a part time course in Plastics Fundamentals at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, while working part time for Contract Drafting Services.
Travelled for three months in the U.K. and India.
1985 Moved to Hobart, Tasmania to study art.