Vale - William Kenneth “Cowboy” Godbolt

Described by mourners as “one of the breed’s true characters and the ultimate showman”, Cowboy died on January 7, 2023, aged 87 and his funeral was held on January 18 at St John’s Church, Taree – the church where he had married Gwen 66 years before.

Hereford breeders around the nation recalled how Cowboy was always ready with good advice on breeding cattle or his philosophy on life, with his cheeky grin and banter.

Ken was born on May 9, 1935, at Nabiac to parents Bill and Peg Godbolt, and grew up on a dairy farm at Karkatt. Ken left school at 13 to work at home on the farm until he was 16 and then went with his older brother Gordon to work on Andamooka Station in South Australia.

Cowboy’s first stud break came with the help from his brother Gordon working at Karoola Poll Shorthorn stud at Cumnock where he progressed to the job of stud groom. Cowboy and Gwen’s third child Shane was born at Wellington.

He fondly remembered his first grand champion at Sydney and Brisbane Royal Shows with Karoola and selling a bull for

5000 guineas in 1961 ($10,500). He was promoted to stud master in 1963 and the stud was dispersed in 1968.

Cowboy took over the management of the Hobartville Hereford Stud in 1969 with 500 breeders running on 2500 acres. During his decade managing Hobartville, Cowboy led the stud to success winning multiple grand champions at Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne Shows, and the renowned Glen Innes Bull Sale.

He described the highlight of his early years with two words, Hobartville Mason. A bull born into the stud in 1972 as a result of Cowboy’s breeding management, Mason went on to win grand champion bull at Melbourne and Sydney Royal Shows. It was at the 1975 Sydney Show that Mason made Hereford history selling for a record price of $44,000.

Hobartville dispersed in 1979 and Cowboy moved to the Red Hill Hereford Stud owned by David Templeton. In 1984 Cowboy and Gwen moved to Braidwood to manage Red Hill.

Vale - Louis Henry Pendergast

High country cattlemen and women gathered for the funeral of Louis Pendergast at Benambra on December 15, 2022, after he passed away on November 29, 2022 at age 75.

Louis was a fourth-generation commercial Hereford breeder, running 240 cows, and was always a familiar face at the annual Mountain Calf Sales with his Hereford and black baldy calves.

He was the third child and only son of Lou and Sylvia Pendergast born on February 11, 1947.

His sisters Barbara, Kay and Dianne, Jennifer and Lindy were all born in Omeo. Louis attended primary school in Benambra followed by the Catholic School in Omeo and Saint Patricks College in Sale.

After leaving school Louis worked on the family farm until he had a family of his own and began farming himself. He spent many long days in the saddle mustering Hereford cattle in the bush, contending with wild dogs and stray cattle.

Louis married Marilyn in 1969 and had two sons, Brett and Sean, with Brett tragically killed in a motorcycle accident at age 16. The marriage broke down and Louis married Sharon in 1989, having four children of their own Stuart, Blake, Jessica and Lloyd.

“Despite contending with droughts, bushfires and high interest rates, Dad and Mum worked hard while we were kids,” Stuart said.

The stud had 250 breeders and won four grand champions at Sydney over eight years. The passion for the stud industry allowed Cowboy to lead Red Hill to greatness selling Red Hill Time Bomb for $42,000 at Sydney in 1999.

Ken and Gwen purchased a small property “Kenaire” in Armidale where in 1985 they established Cowboy Hereford Stud with a purchase of three cows from David Templeton.

Over the years Cowboy produced champions and sale toppers – with great success Cowboy Thunderbolt was awarded junior and grand champion bull and sold for $16,000.

Cowboy and Gwen retired to Murwillimbah, NSW, in the Tweed Valley in 2006 where they bought a lovely home overlooking a dairy farm. They have raised three children, Wayne, Dianna and Shane, five grandchildren, Nikki, Reece, Katie, Max and Zachary, and four great grandchildren Quaid, Phoenix, Ruby and Elliott.

“Dad always put a lot of emphasis on farm work with hay still needing to be carted even it if was 40 degrees on Christmas day. A favourite trick of Dad’s was marking a bull calf and throwing a nut or two at an unsuspecting mate from town.”

Stuart and his wife Ashleigh moved to their own farm at Benambra, working with Louis every day, learning about him and from him.

Louis and Sharon had enjoyed travelling to the UK, Canada, Alaska and New Zealand in recent times.

“Dad loved Benambra. He loved his family, his wife, his kids, his cows and his sheep,” Stuart said.

Vale - Rod Davies

Wrattenbullie Poll Hereford stud principal Rod Davis is being remembered as a deep thinker who set incredibly high standards for his sheep and cattle studs.

From a young age Rod had a passion and love for Poll Dorset sheep and Poll Hereford cattle. He spent his time striving for the best for both his own farm and the breeds, and his stock were his pride and joy.

Wrattenbullie stud was founded in 1976 by Rod and wife Gayle, and is run on 418ha of prime grazing land in the Wrattonbully district.

The stud started as a love for cattle and has developed into a passion to breed high performing Poll Hereford cattle. The breeding herd is selected on structure, fertility and mothering ability.

Foundation females were purchased from Nioka, Goonamurra, Neilpo and Allendale studs.

Rod was vice president of the Australian Poll Dorset Association and had started the Wrattenbullie Poll Dorset stud at 12 years of age in 1965 with a few ewes bought with his pocket money.

Wrattenbullie Poll Herefords was a long-time vendor at the Naracoorte Poll Hereford multi-vendor sale, followed by the Diamond bull sale in conjunction with Bendulla, Yoho and Roeston Park studs, and in recent times bulls were sold on farm.

Rod joined the Naracoorte Show Society in 1984 and was president in the early 2000s, steering the society through some financially difficult times. Awarded life membership in 2017,

Vale - Alison Mary Lowther

Alison Mary Lowther, Silverleaf Herefords, Burnbrae, Queensland, passed away on February 17, 2023, aged 91 years.

A life celebration service was held in her memory at Keatings Funeral Chapel, Chinchilla, on March 3, with grandsons, Gavin and James Leighton reading the eulogy.

A capable cattle and horsewoman, Alison was described as a “mother, grandmother and cherished friend to many, a woman of the land, a cattle producer and could mix it with anyone when it came to handling a beast”.

Born six weeks premature on May 4, 1931, in Brisbane, Alison had a childhood filled with many poddy calves, school by correspondence, snaring wallabies for skins to sell, shooting pigeons and scrub turkeys to eat.

She recalled many stories of mustering cattle out of the scrub as a teenager and riding 10 miles to collect the mail.

Alison and her sister Janice both liked Hereford cattle and remained close throughout their lives.

After World War II, a young, returned soldier Jim Lowther was employed building fences, catching Alison’s eye, and the young couple were married against her parent’s wishes.

She moved to a two roomed cottage built by Jim to start married life with their own cattle and a horse.

On July 9, 1957, son Louis was born followed by a daughter, Isabel.

In 1964 the couple bought a stud Hereford bull, Tellebang Hillary, at the Brisbane Exhibition with stud females added from Devon Court and Wallamumbi herds to form the Silverleaf Hereford stud.

Alison’s discerning eye for quality cattle combined with her extraordinary work ethic grew the stud from its humble he also helped improve the facilities in the sheep pavilion, upgrading the grandstands and pens. beginnings to a stud name recognised widely.

Rod had judged at the Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth Royal Shows.

A celebration of his life was held on April 20 at the Naracoorte showground where he was remembered for dedicating his life to his family and farm.

Rod is survived by his wife Gayle and children Brad, Ange and Sal, and their families.

Bulls were sent to sales at Eidsvold, Roma, Taroom, Armidale and Sydney Royal Show, bringing record prices and winning many prizes at the time.

A group of cattle was prepared and shown at local shows every year, with Alison paying close attention to detail with the cattle always wellpresented and no shortcuts were permitted.

After finishing school, Louis and Isabel returned to Silverleaf to work until 1983 when Isabel married Alan Leighton and moved away. Tragically Louis died that year, taking a toll on Alison and Jim’s 30-year marriage.

Alison was determined to carry on, moving to “Burnbrae”, Burra Burri, to continue the stud cattle and developed an independence, learning to drive and undertaking all the record keeping and management.

At Jim’s passaging in 1992, Alison took over the management of “Silverleaf “and “Burnbrae” despite not having a driver’s licence. Her cattle were always sought for their temperament and growth.

She did not accept her limitations and didn’t slow down until well into her 80s, still going out to check the cattle and ringbark a few trees before moving into the Taralga Retirement Village in 2020.

Alison is survived by daughter Isabel Leighton, grandchildren James, Gavin, Daniel and Owen Leighton, and siblings Jim Markwell and Nancy Gezler.