TIM & GINA FAIRFAX
BUSINESS PRINCIPALS
GINA
I lived in Toowoomba for my first 15 years.
Each year during the August school holidays we would return to my mother’s family home at ‘Delubra’, Mundubbera. This gave me a love of the land and appreciation of life in the bush. I loved our yearly holiday and have many happy childhood memories of country life on a cattle station, mustering and playing in the scrub.
I completed Tresillian Nursing in 1969 and from early 1971 I had 3 years on a working holiday travelling to many parts of the World. I still have places to visit!!
When Tim and I were married in 1977, I moved happily to live the next 20 years at ‘Rawbelle’, Monto. Raising our 4 daughters in the country gave our girls the basic learnings of life. Mustering, molasses runs, flood fences (occasionally), school bus, playgroup and tennis days.
We now have 16 grandchildren, and they are enjoying the time spent at Strathbogie, experiencing and watching the working life on a sheep and cattle property.
We are fortunate that the girls are all living in Brisbane.
I am enjoying keeping busy with many involvements, and in the Family Office and the Foundation.
TIM
I jackarooed on several Queensland properties in the early 1970’s, after which I purchased ‘Rawbelle’ near Monto, with the help of my parents and the bank. The property was purchased on condition that it would give a 15% return on investment on the then current cattle prices. Three months after the purchase, the beef depression occurred, the cattle I had purchased with the property were suddenly worth a quarter of their value and there was a large debt. It was at least 12 years before cattle prices returned to a realistic value. They were tough years, but I have no regrets and there were plenty of learnings.
The beef depression saw me become involved in Agri politics, specifically the Cattlemen’s Union which was a very progressive organisation aiming to deal with the high costs of beef production and a better return for producers. There were some outstanding and intelligent leaders in this organisation whom I admired.
Over the years I have been fortunate to be able to acquire quality properties in a diverse range of locations and to employ excellent and loyal staff, something I never take for granted.
I have been privileged to have been a Director of Stanbroke Pastoral Company when it was owned by AMP Limited and Primac Holdings Limited before it merged with Elders.
