Stanley was born in Wimbledon, near London and emigrated with the family in 1910. Following are some of his recollections of English and Australian life:
'I attended Merton School until the age of 12 1/2 years. Then I went to Rutlish Science School for secondary education, which was the leading Surrey school. I left school at the age of 15 years, just a few weeks prior to embarking for Queensland. On arrival, I stayed at Biarra for a while learning to ride horses and milk cows. Then I went to work on a big dairy farm near Toogoolawah where 120 cows were milked twice daily. After a few weeks Dad bought a property in the district which we named 'Morden'.
Later Gilbert, Nellie and I added to this by buying further land nearby. We commenced to work the place as a family concern but my brother, Harold, left in 1912 when he drew at ballot land from Taabinga Station, Kumbia. Having commenced with dairying we aimed at improving the herd, firstly by using bulls from 'Nestles Milk Company' shorthorns, then purchasing Nestles females and some from New South Wales breeders. "
The family commenced showing their Australian Illawarra Shorthorns at metropolitan and country shows with considerable success. Some of their champions were a bull 'George of Nestles' and cows 'Morden Sparkle' and 'Tulip of Morden'. In 1966, some years after the death of their parents, Gilbert, Stanley and Nellie found it necessary to sell the dairy cattle and restock with Herefords. Stanley said that 'this considerably eased the work-load and, later, following this sale, we made another move towards retirement by selling the property and stock and retained only the use of the residence'.
Over the years Stanley's knowledge of Australian Illawarra Shorthorn Cattle was often sought, as were his services of judging at shows. He, with his brother Gilbert and his sister Nellie, always lived in the 'Morden' home. Stanley died in the Esk HospitaL |