Ken worked hard to provide for family
Born: March 26, 1911
Died: December 28, 2001
Ken McCallum was always recognised as a refreshingly honest and open man, who worked hard during his life to provide for his family.
Born in Nanango, Alexander Kenneth was the eldest of three sons to Alexander and Florence (nee Corbett) McCallum. The death of both of his parents before Ken was a teenager necessitated the three young boys being raised by maiden aunts.
Ken left school at 14 to take up work at the sawmill, but continued to study book keeping, typing and shorthand in his spare time. He was also motivated enough to gain his junior and senior certificates in this manner. When the sawmill closed, Ken was out of work for 21/2 years, during which time he secured relief work with the council and the Forestry Department.
In October 1940, Ken married Hilda May Keogh at the Mary Immaculate Church in Brisbane, the pair sharing over 38 years together. It was also in 1940 that Ken joined the army, although an injury to his knees during training in Townsville ensured he was never sent overseas for active duty. It was during Ken's five years in the army that his three children, Lorraine, John and Lynette, were born in Nanango.
Upon leaving the armed services, Ken took up work with the Post-Master General, and remained in this employment until his retirement in 1976. In 1954, the family relocated to Brisbane for work, and the children completed their education there. Ken remained in Brisbane after his wife's death in 1978, and only moved to Toowoomba eight years ago to take up residence at Lourdes Home.
Throughout his life, Ken enjoyed golf, tennis, bowls, becoming actively involved on the committee for the Sunnybank Bowls Club. He also kept busy under the house with a project always on the go, be it repairing the crab pots, mending shoes, or repairing electrical appliances. Later in life, Ken developed an interest in researching his family history, and he could often be found at the genealogical archives in Brisbane.
Until his death in Toowoomba, aged 90, Ken's greatest joy was spending time with his eight grandchildren, and two great grand-daughters. He is survived by his three children.
Printed in "The Chronicle", Toowoomba, 16th February, 2002.
Stuart MacDonald
(1926-2001)
Stuart MacDonald made his mark on agriculture in Ireland, and most particularly Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia), where his relationships with the indigenous people earned him honorary Shona status. His understanding of, and respect for, his workers was intrinsic to his success, and ultimately ensured the safety of his family in war-torn Rhodesia. Born in County Cork, Ireland, in June 1926, William Stuart MacDonald was the eldest of six children born to Charles and Christine MacDonald. He grew up on the family property "Laharan", and studied agriculture at college in Dublin. Following graduation Stuart worked in England as a farm manager, but was keen to pursue new opportunities in Australia. He boarded a cattle boat to work his way to a life on the other side of the world, but this was a journey that would take him 30 years to complete. Stopping off at Mozambique en route to Australia, Stuart traveled inland to deliver his cargo of pedigree bulls. He was quick to recognise the newly emerging rich tobacco farms of the region, and it wasn't long before he bought his first farm "Bourtonvale". Stuart never did get back on that cattle boat. Although only in his early 20s, Stuart's energy and drive quickly established him as one of the country's largest tobacco producers, and he was twice named Tobacco Grower of the Year. Farming was hard work, with electricity provided by diesel generators, kerosene fridges for cooling, and all the bricks made on the farm using local clay. European farmers at this time were the backbone of Rhodesian agriculture, and for an enterprising man such as Stuart, the opportunities were boundless. His rapport with people and genuine concern for the land won him the friendship of many of the country's leading politicians and decision makers. In 1951 Stuart married Geraldine Coleman. They had five children -- Peter, Mary-Clare, Rosemary, Bill and Roger. Even during those early days in Rhodesia, Stuart felt that eventually the local African people should rule their own country. Coming from a strongly republican Irish background with a recent history of opposing their colonists, he worked to educate and empower his Shona employees in a manner unlike most European farmers. Stuart learnt the Shona language and customs, and built clinics and schools on his farms. including school for 300 youngsters on "Bourtonvale". The Shona people called Stuart "Choga", meaning "Look out! It might be the lion!". In 1961 Stuart and his family returned to Ireland to run the family farm, a venture lasting only six years. The pull of Africa was too great, and the lure of a new crop, cotton, too appealing. Rhodesia led the way in meeting the world demand for cotton, with a very high quality product, and a well-planned system of agriculture. Buying farms upon his return to Rhodesia, Stuart set about becoming a successful and innovative cotton grower. Sadly his wife Geraldine died in 1968. The world can often be a small place, and so it was when Stuart met up with Margaret Coe in Salisbury (now Harare). In Rhodesia teaching, Margaret was from the same county in Ireland as Stuart, their families known to each other. Margaret and Stuart married in 1969 and they had three children Emily, Angus, and Lucy. Stuart made his mark in cotton farming, with a venture which, at its peak, produced more than 10% of Rhodesia's cotton crop. On the farm "Yomba", 1100 families lived full-time, working 5000 acres of irrigated cotton, and 2000 acres of irrigated wheat in winter. He established a school for 1200 children, employing 17 African teachers to provide a primary level education, and maintained a mechanic's shop, a general store, a clinic with two African medical staff, and an entertainment centre for beer drinking and dancing. Stuart also introduced the concept of eight hour shifts, and provided piped water and food for his workers. When conflict grew in Rhodesia in the mid-1970s, Stuart decided to take his family back to Ireland. It was not an easy decision Rhodesia had become home to the MacDonalds. It is a testament to the esteem in which Stuart was held that in the 12 months following their departure in 1976, "Yomba " although unoccupied, remained untouched, while farms all around were looted and burnt. Australia still beckoned, however, and in 1980 the family settled in Toowoomba. Businesswise, Australia did not prove to be the happy hunting ground Stuart had hoped. What was remarkable about Stuart's years in Toowoomba was the way in which he was so quickly accepted into the community. When facing difficulties, the family found themselves the recipients of tremendous generosity from people in Toowoomba. Stuart became seriously ill in 1991, and spent his last years in Epworth Special Care Unit. He died in Toowoomba on August, 14, 2001, survived by his wife Margaret, and his seven children.
Published in "the Chronicle", Toowoomba November 22nd, 2001
Barry Charles McGOWAN
Our own Bryan Brown, handsome, quick-witted, lovable, ladykiller, gentleman, kind of heart. That's how colleagues remember journalist Barry Charles McGowan who died suddenly, aged 46, this year. Barry grew up in Pittsworth, the second youngest of five and always showed a love for literature. His eldest brother John recalls how his children excitedly awaited visits by their doting Uncle Barry who would always read them a bedtime story. Barry began his journalism career with a cadetship at The Chronicle in Toowoomba while he studied at University of Southern Queensland, then called the Darling Downs Institute of Advanced Education, from which he graduated in 1983. Despite a debonair, cool-calm exterior, Barry had a huge social conscience. Early in his career he showed a real humanitarian spirit, tackling many social issues in his writing. One major project for The Chronicle was his series Toowoomba After Dark, which revealed the Garden City's dark underbelly of homelessness and drug addiction. He won the DDIAE's inaugural Kirkpatrick Award for Excellence in Journalism for the series. Barry co-edited The Chronicle's youth pages while still a student and continued to work at The Chronicle after his graduation, specialising in baseball and indoor cricket for the sports section and writing news and features. Clippings lovingly and secretly collected by his proud mother Charlotte, who predeceased Barry by three months, give an insight into his unique sense of humour. For a profile series on the town's identities, grand lady Nell Robinson, who in 1967 became Queensland's first female mayor, was interviewed by Barry a few years after she had given up her 20-year municipal career. The story stands as an excellent record of a woman whose era had clearly passed. Robinson boasts of regular visits and correspondence with her "friend" the Maharajah of Faridkot and tells how she believed her early career as an actress and London Royal Academy of Dramatic Art graduate held her in good stead for the stage of Toowoomba's municipal government. With his usual insight, Barry spun the story skillfully. After a stint on the Townsville Bulletin, Batty began working at The Courier-Mail as a sub-editor on the news desk in 1988, followed by a stint writing for the finance section in 1993, before returning to the news desk as a sub-editor. He was an elusive man, extremely popular with the ladies, and while ever ready to lend an ear to friends in need, he never divulged much of his personal life to his friends or family. One-time flatmate and co-worker John McCarthy tells of how he noticed Barry's absences on a particular night of the week and had quizzed him only to find out he had been helping deliver Meals on Wheels. At first McCarthy says he thought Barry was joking and had really been out on the town, but later realised Barry was fair dinkum and had been a Meals worker for some time but never boasted about it. Barry never forgot the child he and his first wife Carol lost shortly after birth. Those who knew him well realised that Barry wasn't a carefree bachelor but a father who had lost his child. In later years, Barry was happy and comfortable, after settling down with his great love Haydee Cummins, playing golf with mates each week and rekindling relationships with his family after the death of his cousin and mother within months of each other. Perhaps an insight into Barry's personality can be gained from a Chronicle interview he did in the 1980s with Catholic spiritual healer Father Robert DeGrandis of the Catholic Charismatic Movement. After offering himself as a guinea pig to judge the efficacy of the good father's laying on of hands, Barry concludes his story: "I'm not the sort of person to hold a grudge and any physical disabilities I have I'm keeping to myself". We'll never know if the heart condition that ultimately took his life was something else that Barry had kept to himself. He died suddenly at home on March 6th, in death as in life, the details remain a mystery. All we know is that Barry, you were a star. -
Alison Mason, sub-editor, The Courier-Mail. This obituary was previously published in the Wakely Magazine.
Published in "The Chronicle", Toowoomba Saturday December 15th, 2001.
Vale, a true all-round Australian horseman
Neil Francis MacGinley
Neil Francis MacGinley, born on May 28, 1943, was the sixth child of Roger and Thelma MacGinley. Mr MacGinley spent all his life on the family property Aileach. He was educated through correspondence and attended the Gatton Convent for four years. A uniquely individual person, Mr MacGinley had a truly Australian manner that included a distinctive use of the English language. His unaffected way of communicating with people endeared him to his many friends. Mr MacGinley gave his time and talents to organisations including Riding for the Disabled, the Toowoomba Turf Club, the Clifton Jockey Club, and to fostering the game of polo -- at which he excelled. He trained racehorses, bred polo ponies, broke in horses, and cared for horses on neighbouring properties. Many priests joined Bishop of Toowoomba William Morris, Neil's brother Father John MacGinley, and hundreds of mourners at St Patrick's Cathedral to pay their respects on November 2. Mr MacGin]ey is survived by his wife of 32 years, Cathy; sisters and brothers Sister Joan (Papua New Guinea), Sister Patricia (Toowoomha), David (Greenmount),Kathleen (Toowoomba), Father John (Tara), and Father Rod (Chile). Neil's younger brother Vince (Ma Ma Creek) predeceased him in 1998. Neil Francis MacGinley was 57.
Printed in "The Chronicle", Toowoomba 1 January 2001.
Tribute to Jock McCoach
JOSEPH (JOCK) McCOACH
27/7/39 -- 20/10/1998
Jock was born in Clydebank, Scotland, where he did all his schooling and apprenticeship. He came to Australia in 1961 to work for Burtons in Sydney. The last 20 years of Jock's career were at St Vincent's Hospital, Toowoomba. He started as laundry manager and his first major role was to plan a new laundry for the hospital. In 1983 he was appointed head engineer of the newly created maintenance department, a position he held ever since. Jock was a member of the Institute of Hospital Engineers, Queensland branch. Jock saw St Vincent's grow to become one of the most respected health care providers in the state. He was a loyal, competent, compassionate and caring person, with his own unique sense of humour. He went about his business in a most unassuming way -- nothing was ever too much trouble to him, and things just happened when he became involved. He was always honest in the advice he gave, and because of his high standing in his profession, his advice was always sought by the board, the executive and other hospital leaders. Jock had his own style of leadership -- strong, and direct. He expected the highest standards and commitment from all he worked with. Jock always put others before himself, and we know that his spirit will always be with us. Jock is survived by his wife Ethel, son Angus, stepson Stephen, daughters-in-law Michelle and Wendy, and grandchildren Eleanor, Fraser, Sarah, Ashlea and Kady, his mother Nancy McCoach and sister Nan Anderson.
Printed in "The Chronicle", Toowoomba 19 October 1999.
Family man looked for good in everyone
Robert John Mclntosh (Bob)
1927-1999
If you were to put a label on Bob Mclntosh it would have to be, "the genuine article". Bob was born in Toowoomba in 1927 to Robert and Lucia McIntosh and had an older sister, May, and a younger brother, Doug. Bob was raised on the family farm at Carpendale, via Helidon, and as a young man took over the ownership and running of the smallcrops farm from his father. In 1950, looking for a way to keep out of strife as a young man, Bob courted, fell in love with, and married Margret (Peg) McIvor, the local policeman's middle daughter. Together they worked long and hard on the farm and raised six children -- Peter, Pat, Paul, Ann, Tony and Colleen. In the late 1960s, eldest son Peter finished school and joined Bob on the farm. Together they built up the farming enterprise, which became well known in the district as "McIntosh Farms". Bob loved the land and took special pride in the quality of his produce. His work was a labour of love. Bob was also a very active community man. During the years of raising his children, Bob also pursued his love of shooting. As being married to the local policeman's daughter meant that street signs and the like were out of bounds, Bob became heavily involved in helping to raise and run the Gatton Rifle Club. Bob made many life-long friendships on the rifle range. As his twilight years approached, Bob joined the local bowls club at Gatton. Many a bowling session was filled with Bob's good humour, laughter and wonderful gamesmanship. He loved the sport and had the honour of wearing the presidents badge. To Bob, winning was never the issue; creating friendships and enjoying the company of others was. Bob was also an active member of the Range Probus Club where he experienced great fellowship. Bob was a great family man and he enjoyed a special relationship with each of his children, their spouses and his grandchildren. He was much loved. As a person, Bob was a rich character. He was unpretentious, had a great sense of I humour and enjoyed giving. His philosophy on life was simple: always do the right thing, look for the good in everyone. If you don't have something good to say, don't say anything at all, and always give more than you take. It was his genuineness and his ability to relate to people of all walks of life that made him so special. He enriched the lives of a great number of people and will be long remembered.
Printed in "The Chronicle", Toowoomba, 17 August 1999.
John's legacy a love of life, community spirit
Born: October 3, 1916
Died: March 28, 2002
When John McGovern died last month, Helidon lost its oldest resident actually born in the town. He was a man who, apart from his war service, spent his entire life in Helidon, and was involved in nearly every aspect of this thriving community.
Born into an era without telephone, electric lighting or radio, Michael John was the eldest of six children of Edward and Catherine McGovern (nee Corcoran). His parents ran the local bakery and were proprietors of the local hall, later to become Corbett's Empire Theatre. John attended school at the local convent before transferring to the state primary school where his father thought he would be able to play more organised sport. The nuns who ran the convent were not pleased with this decision, and promptly cancelled their bread order. Secondary schooling was at Downlands College where John was a foundation student, and he was proud to make both the First XI and the First XV.
Financial constraints caused by the Depression curtailed any further education, and John went to work in the family business, to which he had been contributing for many years. Working at the bakery, the hall and his grandparent's hotel kept John busy, but he always found time to play sport on a Saturday afternoon and attend local Saturday night dances. It was at a Flagstone Creek dance that he met Doris Kapernick and the pair married in 1944. John was called up in 1942 to the army where he served as an electrical engineer, the army seemingly oblivious to his skills both as a baker and a truck driver. He was in Cairns at the time of the Battle of the Coral Sea, and later served in New Britain, before returning to Australia to settle back in Helidon.
It was back to the family bakery for John, until a heart attack in 1947 required him to take on lighter duties in his uncle's store. Two sons, Trevor and Paul, were born to John and Doris during this time, with the couple going into business for themselves, opening a family grocery in 1959. Despite some naysayers, this business prospered with the couple's determination and the loyal support of the community. Community involvement was important to John and he was associated with many groups within Helidon. First and foremost to him was his work with the Convent and the Church, but he also supported local sports groups, the Progress Association and was bingo caller at the RSL for nearly 10 years. John was subsequently honoured as a life member of the RSL in recognition of his commitment to the group. After 15 years running the business, failing health forced John into retirement.
Boredom was never an option however, with a love of travel, five grandchildren to spoil, and a developing passion for the game of lawn bowls. John took to this sport with relish, enjoying both the companionship and competition, not only at the Gatton Club where he was a member, but at the many other clubs he visited, John McGovern firmly believed that the mark of a man lay in his actions rather than his words, and he certainly left his mark on Helidon. He died in March aged 85, and is survived by his wife Doris, his two sons, and his five grandchildren.
Published in "The Chronicle", Toowoomba, 12th April 2002.
David worked hard for Wandoan community
Born: December 25, 1915
Died: January 1, 2003
David McAllister was a shire councillor for 23 years, his civic efforts making a significant difference to the face of Wandoan and ensuring there would always be a permanent testimony to his commitment and hard work. Born in Cowie, Scotland, on Christmas Day, David McNeill McAllister was one of two sons who lost their father in the First World War.
When their mother remarried, the family migrated to Australia in 1919, and David attended school at Acland, where his stepfather was a manager at the coal mine. Later he went to Tannymorel school, where there was also a coal mine, but finished his formal education after he turned 12. After school, David worked at a variety of jobs, eventually following his stepfather into coal mining. When work started to dry up in this field, David became a motor mechanic for Dinny McGrath in Oakey, and gained his B and A Grade motor mechanic certificates. In later years he opened his own garage in Maclagan.
In June 1942, David married Joyce Proposch, and the pair had five children, one of whom (David) was killed in an accident in 1989. With the war on Australia's doorstep, David leased the garage and joined the Army to serve in New Guinea, where he was a member of the llth Light Horse Association. On his return to Australia, David mined for a while before buying farms at Rangemore and Brymaroo. After trying land ballots for many years, he was finally lucky enough to draw one in Wandoan in 1962, the place where he spent the following 40 happy years. David quickly became a familiar face around the area. He loved football, and was a life member of both the Roma Rugby League and Taroom Football clubs, and spent a lot of time selling tickets for these clubs as well as the Lions Club. He and a mate were responsible for building the clubhouse at Taroom, and he was also a driving force behind the building of the Leichhardt Villa Aged Home, spending 14 years on the committee.
Civic duty was very important to David, and he served 14 years on the Dalby and Western Downs Committee, 23 years as a councillor for the Rosalie and Taroom shires (retiring in 1991), and 50 years as a member of the RSL and Masonic Lodge. In 2000, David was awarded the Australian Sports Medal by the Taroom Shire in recognition of his efforts.
David McAllister died aged 87, and is survived by his wife Joyce, children Rhonda, Jim, Maureen and Dianne, 16 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.
Published in "The Chronicle", Toowoomba February 18th, 2003.
Obituaries Index
Toowoomba Dead Persons Society
