Preston tells of hard road
FORMER Gold Coast Titans star Preston Campbell has told of his fear of being on the dole and the importance of education and gaining work.
The Titans for Tomorrow charity ambassador gave a 20-minute address from the heart at the AWU conference when he spoke about his life as a young, unemployed father before his NRL career.
As guest speaker at the conference at Jupiters Hotel and Casino, Mr Campbell was applauded by more than 400 delegates as he explained his climb out of the pit of unemployment.
He had worked with an auto electrician and as a teacher aide in the small community of Tingha on the northern tablelands in NSW before having to seek dole payments.
“For four to five months I had to go on the dole,” Mr Campbell said. “It was something I wasn’t proud of. It was something I thought I’d never have to do.”
Growing up in the small town of 500 residents, he had watched friends and family members struggle with alcohol and drug abuse when they could not find work.
He recalled a life-changing moment when playing representative footy as an 18year-old for a NSW Country side. Gold Coast Chargers talent scout Tom Searle called to say “I like that way you play football” and invited him to trial on the tourist strip in the new team for the 1996 season.
“I was 18, we were expecting a child, that was my duty to come to the Gold Coast and work my butt off,” Mr Campbell said.
“For me it was one of the most difficult times of my life. I had to leave my missus at home. We couldn’t afford a house. I cried myself to sleep for three months.”
Two decades later he had won a Dally M, a grand final, helped establish the Gold Coast Titans and become a community leader in helping indigenous youth.