3 minute read
Currawong
Photography: Edwina Robertson
Jill and Denis Conway walk the talk. Their property, Currawong, at Taroom in Queensland is very much a family business. The couple, together with daughters Olivia Martin (nee Conway) BB(Ag)’14, Sally Edwards (nee Conway) AssocDFBM’18, son Ben, and their spouses, have run their property and are now implementing the family succession plan, together.
“The three children did the succession planning, choosing which property they would inherit, allowing them the certainty of expanding nearby if the opportunity presents. Our fundamental belief about providing for the future of the next generation is to multiply the pie, not divide it, and expand family ownership by parents retaining first mortgage. It is our lifelong ambition for our children to continue their farming heritage and pass that privilege on,” Denis said. With the next and fifth generation’s combined skill set of daughters as Marcus graduates in Farm Management and Agribusiness, son a diesel mechanic, and in-laws a helicopter pilot and social worker, they make for a complementary and effective team.
Sally, who happens to be married to another Marcus graduate, Charlie Edwards DipAgri’18, feels lucky to have lived the Marcus experience. “Marcus equips its students with not only a deep theoretical understanding of primary production but, more importantly, with a set of business skills which ultimately governs the graduates’ way of thinking and approaching the real-world, post-Marcus. I was always attracted to this aspect prior to becoming a student of Marcus Oldham, however, it is now as a graduate that I truly value it,” she said. Sally cites the domestic and international tours as highlights, and credits her favourite lecturers, including Andrew Mackay, David Cornish and CJ (Campbell Jeffrey) - with opening her eyes and mind. Sally and Olivia agree on one lecturer’s impact in particular - Ian Farran. “Seeing Faz return, again, was a shared period of joy,” said Sally. “Faz was an engineering genius,” agreed Olivia. Olivia found Marcus gave her an ability to understand
different businesses, to look for the next opportunity and weigh up the pros and cons of pursuing that opportunity. “The whole experience, and education gives you the tools to be confident in decision making and problem solving. Marcus encourages you to set the bar high and to aim above it,” she said. Over the past 33 years Denis and Jill have been expanding their operation by acquiring land, establishing leucaena, and improving pastures. With the assistance of capable and loyal staff, the Conway family are now backgrounding steers and turning off larger numbers annually than ever before. As they move into semi-retirement, and the sixth-generation revels in their country upbringing, the future looks bright for Currawong. “Our philosophy is to try and do everything to the best of your ability and be educated on the subject. Surround yourself with capable and successful people. Despite conditions on the land often being challenging, with adversities such as droughts, floods, financial difficulties, commodity prices, and more recently, COVID, understand that with every adversity, there are opportunities. It all depends on your attitude, the only thing we can truly control in life is our attitude - how we perceive and react to a situation, circumstance or occurrence will dictate the outcome,” Denis said. But for the Conway’s the final consideration remains family. “Try to help your fellow human beings to succeed - treat them as you would like to be treated yourself. And above all else, do everything in your power to hold your immediate and extended family together,” Jill said. tomartin@bigpond.com scconway1@outlook.com
The Currawong Scholarship offers support for students studying agriculture or agribusiness, who reside in Queensland or the Northern Territory and are a minimum of 25 years of age.
