For many Goulburn Valley people, Ross Turnbull’s job as chairman of a major fruit processing company cast him in a serious role, with his decisions influencing the livelihood of many hundreds — if not thousands — of people.
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But his friends recently recalled his personal side, as a man who was sociable and intelligent company, who expressed a genuine interest in the welfare of people around him and who enjoyed a good story and a joke.
Ross Sugden Turnbull, the fourth generation of a pioneering Ardmona family, died on Thursday, March 3 surrounded by his family. He was 82 years old.
Born in Mooroopna in March 1939, Ross was the son of Charlie (Chas) and Jean Turnbull. He was educated at Melbourne Grammar School and returned home to work on the orchard with his father immediately afterwards, later joined by his younger brothers Don and Bruce.
In 1962, Mr Turnbull travelled overseas for nine months to work in England with Ardmona Fruit Products and the Trade Fair Circuit.
He then spent two months visiting orchards and learning from the experience of United States fruit growers.
He brought home innovative ideas and passion for the industry and was inspired to work with Doug Parsons and John Cornish to build a modern, early version of a pear grader.
Mr Turnbull married Daphne Learoyd in 1966 in England before Daphne moved to Australia, making Ardmona and Shepparton her home.
He supported Daphne during her career as an examiner for the Royal Academy of Dance and establishing the Daphne Learoyd School of Dance. Together they had four children — Philip, Veronica, Christian and Alex. They now have 10 grandchildren.
Mr Turnbull made a tremendous contribution to the fruit growing industry.
He was elected to the board of Ardmona Fruit Products in 1976, becoming chairman in 1980 and demonstrating an understanding of leadership and a thorough knowledge of the industry. He held this position until 2002.
Mr Turnbull supported the idea of bringing in new directors to the board to help the company understand the wider world and add expertise.
Fellow director Peter McCamish said this also reflected how Mr Turnbull was comfortable in his own leadership.
Mr Turnbull served as secretary-treasurer of the Ardmona Fruitgrowers Association for many years. He was the chairman of the Tatura Research Station Advisory Committee, and also served on the board of Northern Pear Growers until 1991.
By 1992, Turnbull Brothers Orchards, with Ross at the helm, was the largest pear orchard in the Southern Hemisphere. About 7000 tonnes of William pears and 3000 tonnes of Packham pears were harvested annually.
Mr Turnbull divided his time between fruit growing and board responsibilities for the Ardmona company.
During this time, Ardmona piloted canned fruit in juice in a world-first as consumers moved away from cane sugar.
Snack packs were developed offering a single serve of diced fruit in juice in the 1980s and the Goulburn Valley brand was born to market the revolutionary product.
Later the highly successful one kilogram fridge pack was launched. The ‘Oarsome Foursome’ campaign complemented these new products. The first line of product sold out in four months.
Despite his key position and the demands on his time, Mr Turnbull still remembered the people his business relied on.
The story goes that he would often wave to, or greet people, he saw working on the lines in the Mooroopna factory and whom he recognised from the orchard.
One woman nudged another on the packing lines after noticing him, wearing a flannelette shirt and in gum boots, and asked: “Who was that?” “That’s the boss,” was the reply.
In 2002, as chair of Ardmona Foods, Mr Turnbull led the merger between Ardmona and SPC to create the iconic food manufacturer SPC Ardmona.
The first meeting of Ardmona Fruit Products was hosted in 1921 by Jack and Bert Turnbull, Ross's grandfather and great-uncle, making this merger a fitting final chapter to the cannery story for the Turnbull family.
Mr Turnbull and his Ardmona directors were widely credited with extracting a generous result for supplier shareholders from the merger with SPC.
The full value was finally realised when Coca-Cola Amatil made the offer to buy the merged entity.
His former chief executive officer at Ardmona during the cooperative’s most profitable years, David Taylor, recalled Mr Turnbull as a sociable and outgoing person who worked well with board members and respected the advice of experienced management.
He also exuded a quiet strength the company needed at times when facing challenges.
Business colleague and friend Peter McCamish recalled Mr Turnbull as a man at ease with himself, who cultivated liberal views not constrained by dogma.
“He had a quirky sense of humour, mainly manifesting in one-liners,” Mr McCamish said. “Some of them were absolute shockers!”
When under pressure at key moments in the company’s progress, and facing questioning from worried suppliers, Mr Turnbull was able to address the issues directly and calmly.
Californian businessman Chiles Wilson is joint owner of a large US fruit company, exporting to the world. About 40 years ago he was a college student looking for harvest work at Ardmona when he met Ross Turnbull.
“Still in college at the time I had no idea what I was going to do for the rest of my life,” Chiles recalled.
“Within six weeks I knew I wanted to be like Ross.
“Over the past 40 years Ross has been my mentor. He has helped me and guided me in my business life and personal life. On two occasions Ross travelled to the United States for the sole purpose guiding me through a personal crisis.
“Ross was a major component of my success.”
Mr Turnbull took part in two major fundraising operations.
As he neared the end of his career, he was chair for a group that raised $2 million for a new high-care aged facility in Shepparton, as well as a committee member that raised more than $2 million for an oncology unit at Goulburn Valley Health.
Many people will also recall attending the Shepparton Arts Festival event, Opera in the Orchard, attracting about 200 people to Ross and Daphne’s garden at Findon House annually for many years.
After handing the reins of the orchard to the next generation of Turnbull brothers, Mr Turnbull never considered a typical path into retirement.
His risk-taking nature and thirst for a challenge drove him to obtain his pilot’s licence and for many years he spent weekends flying his four-seater Cirrus aircraft.
Together with Daphne and his family, he continued to enjoy travel and music throughout his lifetime, while supporting his sons on the orchard with business advice, practical ideas and friendship.
Mr Turnbull was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2005. He did not let the degenerative illness impact his incredibly positive outlook on life and was able to remain active.
Sons Chris and Alex remain in the district with their families as fruit growers. His other children, Philip and Veronica, live in Melbourne and both remain in the industry working for APAL.
A memorial service for Mr Turnbull was held at Longleat Wines, Murchison on March 16. His ashes were scattered under a 130-year-old oak tree on the Ardmona home property.
Shepparton News assistant editor and Country News journalist