Supporting a charity and a shipmate as part of a gruelling physical challenge at sea displayed the true spirit of HMAS Brisbane’s crew.
An event dubbed the ’48-hour charity row’ involved 96 ship’s company, who maintained 30-minute stints on rower machines over two days in between their duties in the destroyer, which was on its return sail from an Indo-Pacific regional presence deployment.
The event aimed to raise money for the Melanoma Institute Australia and to honour the brother of Brisbane’s Leading Seaman Kade Biddick, Leading Seaman Jacob Biddick, who died from the skin cancer melanoma earlier in 2023.
In an approved departure from normal uniform standards, ship’s company wore Melanoma Institute Australia t-shirts featuring the awareness slogan ‘game on mole’, which encourages all Australians to know the skin they are in and to be sun-safe.
Able Seaman Melita Tennant and Leading Seaman Lauren Ford organised the event through the Brisbane welfare committee and raised more than $2000. Together, the rowers reached a combined distance of 573,419 metres.
“We initially came up with the idea of doing a 24-hour row for charity, which then evolved into a 48-hour row to support both the charity and the Biddick family,” Able Seaman Tennant said.
“The Navy has a huge culture of family, and on our ship if someone has been impacted by something, we all have.
“I’m so proud of everyone coming together, and that’s just what I love about the crew and the community – the culture on board is just exceptional.”
Leading Seaman Kade Biddick maintains the internal communications equipment aboard Brisbane and was inspired to join the Navy by his brother Jacob, also known as ‘Jake’.
“I think Jake would be pretty astonished with the amount of support and the number of people who’ve been part of the event,” he said.
“It’s pretty incredible to see the people that I work with and live with every day getting around me and my family and supporting us.
“Jake was really into fitness. It was a big passion in his life and I think that he’d be really proud of us running a fitness-focused event and raising money for a good cause.
“I think if he was there, he would have been leading the charge.
“When I initially approached my family about it, they were lost for words. They really are very thankful and overwhelmed with the amount of ongoing support that the ship has provided.”
The Melanoma Institute Australia lists Australia as having the highest rates of the disease in the world.
It is a figure that Leading Seaman Biddick says should not be taboo.
“My brother was 28 years old. He was always sun smart, always looked after his body and had regular check-ups,” he said.
“Melanoma doesn’t discriminate. It affects all people from different walks of life, and it’s something that we need to raise awareness about.
“The charity row has been a great way to raise awareness and to show people that you all need to be smart, you need to get checked and you all need to look after yourselves.”
