Livestock agents, farmers, truck drivers and more came together in Bairnsdale recently to celebrate Ian Parker’s 60 years with Elders Ltd.
It was a 0.01 per cent achievement, according to Elders Bairnsdale branch manager Colin Lane, referring to the chance of one person working with one company for so long.
Mr Parker joined the then Goldsborough, Mort & Co agency on October 1, 1956, straight out of school.
“I was employed as a clerk, poking around the office in Melbourne,” Mr Parker said.
Soon he was sent to Bendigo, Swan Hill and Shepparton, covering short-term vacancies; which led to a permanent position at Swan Hill.
His focus was on buying stock and auctioneering at livestock sales, especially pig, calf and sheep sales.
“The pig business was a very big business back then.”
After seven years at Swan Hill, a short stint at Ballarat – “It was too cold for me” – and a 12-month transfer to Finley, NSW, he moved to Bairnsdale.
He has been at Bairnsdale ever since, including a period of time as branch manager.
In the meantime, a strategic play by Norman Giles, then CEO of Elders Smith, saw the merger of Elders and Goldsborough, Mort, to strengthen the wool business arm of the company. It eventually morphed in today’s Elders Ltd, with its dual focus on wool and livestock.
Mr Parker spent his career involved in the livestock trade and, as could be expected, saw changes.
“I enjoyed Bairnsdale. When I first came here, livestock would be put on the train on Friday night and railed to Dandenong. If it needed to, the train would arrive back on Saturday morning to take the next load,” he said.
“Now there’s a very efficient truck network to transport cattle and sheep; and they don’t muck around – they’re lined up to load before the sale is finished.”
Other changes include undercover yards and soft floors for livestock to stand on.
He also participated in Elders’ expansion of the Mountain Calf Sales.
“That two-day event is really something special. Five auctioneers worked on it and, although originally it was all Hereford cattle, it’s now grown in numbers and one day is devoted to black cattle.”
Apart from agency and company mergers, Mr Parker feels fortunate to have worked in the industry for so long and to witness the current day.
“The job at the moment is more streamlined, with fewer agencies, better selling methods and improved transport,” he said.
“And people are realising they can get a better quid for their cattle by buying better grade bulls.”
