Started out with time spent on Gunn properties in the Goondiwindi district.
Then joined Borthwicks, Murrarie as a trainee livestock buyer, working through the plant from knocking box to wholesale meat sales.
Part of the exercise was to inspect the days kill and record an average liveweight and an estimated dressed weight. This was submitted to livestock manager, Clive (Bluey) Thompson with discussion at end of day.
Worked with some gentlemen you probably know….Barry Winter, Chinchilla; John Bushell, Roma; Peter Brown, Brisbane and of course the Scamp brothers who were a household name at Borthwicks.
Then joined Mactaggarts, which was a short stay, but incredible experience and rubbed shoulders with some of the best in the industry.
Started at HQ in Creek Street, Brisbane and spent a fair bit of time at Cannon Hill. Pig and sheep days with Bill Webb, and cattle days with Vic Barwick.
After some time was transferred to subsidiary, Tatnell & Graham at Gympie under Des Rowling and worked with Alain Henderson. Can remember him getting around with his mouth open and he said he went to head office for the first time and staring up at the high-rise buildings got the roof of his mouth sunburnt.
Some time later again transferred to Gin Gin to join with Bruce Brown.
And as the live export job heated up was transferred to the Export Department based out of Wandoan, working with Butch Yorkston. We did a lot of the ground work with cattle, health tests, vaccinations, weighing, and mustering on agistment properties such as Duckponds, Emerald and Shenandoah, Bauhinia Downs.
Stan Cook was the branch manager at Wandoan, while Gary Johncock was livestock salesman….shared a flat with him for awhile.
Can recall loading trucks out of Shenandoah to Ipswich saleyards and then to a ship tied up near the wool stores in Brisbane.
Mactaggarts at that time owned the property Bethany west of Wandoan, where we also spent time building new yards and crush to handle cattle.
It was at about this time the cattle crash occurred and found I was unemployed. Not soon after joined the DPI beef cattle husbandry branch for 12 years.
