“I first started this bio in January 2021 to acknowledge my first payslip anniversary of my Qld Primary Producers Co-op employment. I was in rehabilitation at Redcliffe after having bilateral knee replacement surgery with plenty of time at hand and completed it in three days, but because of my computer inability I packed it away to bring back home to Bell, where my computer technologies could go to work. (Type in lost in transition haven’t been seen since). Back up? Save? Memory? “Just write it out again and I’ll fix it up for you tomorrow Dear.”
Bio: as written by Kevin Hauff, Photo courtesy of Gary Mason
Kevin gets a start with Primaries in Blackall in 1967
My time with Primaries started in 1967 as a Junior Stockman straight after school, on every Thursday, holding out cattle in the main arena, where a lot of drafting was done because of the low capacity, and set up of the rodeo yards of the Blackall Showgrounds. Friday was sale day and also sports day for both schools in Blackall. Greg Scanlan (son of Tom Scanlan, Manager) and I took turns relaying pen slips back to the secretary box during the sale and then helped with the loading out.
Most trucks back then were body trucks or single deck only, and the half wooden / half pipe loading ramp was dragged back and forth from chutes side to unsaddling yards on the other side of the arena, where most of the less docile cattle got yarded. Any docile cattle that were purchased to go by train were walked back to the railway trucking yards and loaded out whenever the Saturday train got back from Yaraka.
Boarding school finished, what now?
Fast forward five years of boarding school at De a Salle College, Scarborough in my final year, my father asked what career path I was planning on, my instant reply was knowing how proud he was of my achievements thus far was “same as you Dad, a notable grazier and footballer.” I can’t print his first reply, but I can remember his family tradition, “you can’t come back to home to work on the property until you have worked 12 months with the same employer, and football doesn’t count”.
I did my time with a livestock and wool broker agency NZ Loan Co. A seed was planted but would it grow? I got a fairly reasonable senior score, so I picked up a QCL, went straight to positions vacant classified, where there were two specialised livestock agency ads, so since I had done up a resume, I posted them off and scoured through the QCL for the other four addresses of livestock agents head offices in Brisbane. While I was waiting on replies of the aforementioned, my parents came down to Redcliffe to have their annual four weeks before, and four weeks after Christmas holidays. One of my school mates asked if I wanted to make a few quick dollars on one of his father’s prawn trawlers as a prawn picker/sorter, $50 per day and two litre bucket of prawns, I am not an idiot. I had four letters saying position filled and two interviews, Elders and AML&F. The latter to start 1st February 1973, in Blackall.
Back to Blackall in 1973
After returning home from holidays in late January 1973, our neighbours in Blackall, Mitch and Vicki Wright came on to tell us that Mitchie had accepted a promotion with Primaries as Livestock Salesman in Quilpie and was moving next couple of days before Australia Day long weekend and forecast rain. The subject of his replacement of course came up and apparently Gerry Muller, Blackall Manager and George Anderson, Branch Administrator, had a disagreement and the position had not been filled.
Within 24 hours Gerry came and knocked on the door wanting a conversation with my father. A half an hour later both summoned me from mowing the lawn to inform me I had secured the merchandise officers position in Blackall starting Tuesday after Australia Day. The other staff at the time was Bob McIntosh, Stock Salesman, and Jan Hauff (my second cousin) Office and Accounts Clerk. Settling in the first few days was a breeze as I had plenty of history of schoolboy jobs and great mate partnership when TRS was Manager and a lot of visits with Dad. First Friday was full of surprises, as Gerry summoned me into his office. I am thinking that I have done something wrong, only to be apologised to and presented with a bus ticket to Brisbane, leaving on Sunday night and an appointment at 8.30am Monday to George Henderson’s office to discuss my cadetship employment. Another story for another day.
Bob McIntosh was transferred out to Rockhampton Stock Salesman and Auctioneer in March 1973 and Doug Black was transferred in as Stock Salesman and Pattie Anne Phillips was added to the staff, Office, and Accounts.
I thoroughly enjoyed my two and half years with QPP, and had three bosses, Gerry Muller, Peter Watt, and John Moody. John Moody delivered the news regarding amalgamation, and half of the staff had to be stood down and let go. He approached me to stay on as I had provisional auctioneers license (One year to go), but I had to promise to stay the full 12 months. Jobs were hard to find at the time because of the cattle market collapse the previous year. So, I told him to offer the position to the other stock salesman who had a young family with three children under five. He accepted and I went home to work on our family property with a promise to be employed as stockman with Primac every Thursday before sales on Friday, or whenever else I was needed under John Moody’s tenure, thus completing a full ten years 1967 to 1977.
My cadetship mentors:
Stud stock: Peter Lloyd and Rex Taylor.
Fat stock: Eric Bassingthwaighte and Rob Brown.
Wool Dept Tom O’Brien, Peter Enright, and Ken Johnson.
Merchandise Peter Mee, Ross Pumpa
Rockhampton – Boysy Priddle.
Insurance: Peter Wilson, Cedric Sallows
Rockhampton –Bob Lawliss
CU Rep – Owen Pope.
“Plenty of stories, good times, and lasting memories of this lot.“ Kevin Hauff
