In 1937 he rowed in the bow seat of the Western Australian men's eight which contested the King's Cup at the Australian Interstate Regatta. He was awarded a Bachelor of Laws by the University of Western Australia in 1938. That same year he was selected to row for Australia and won a gold medal in the coxed fours in the 1938 British Empire Games in Sydney. In 1939 he married Joan Baker and they had twin daughters, Felicity and Susan and a son, Robert.[citation needed]
Freeth was elected as the Liberal member for Forrest in the 1949 election. He actually finished third on the primary vote behind Labor incumbent and minister Nelson Lemmon and the Country Party'sArnold Potts, a hero of both World Wars.[4] On the third count, however, Potts' preferences flowed overwhelmingly to Freeth, allowing Freeth to defeat Lemmon on a swing of 4.4 percent. Freeth would hold the seat comfortably for most of the next two decades.
He was appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs, replacing Paul Hasluck, in February 1969 when Hasluck became Governor-General. In this role, Freeth made some unfortunate comments about relations with Russia, which in the Cold War atmosphere of the times were interpreted as being somewhat 'soft on communism'.[6]
Freeth was defeated at the 1969 election by the Australian Labor Party candidate, Frank Kirwan.[3] His defeat at a time when the government of which he was a part was generally secure was attributed in part to his statements about relations with Russia, but also to discontent by farmers in his largely rural electorate who were suffering a degree of economic recession at the time.[6]
