Tribute to a legend of the region

Ken’s work ethic was unquestionable as those who knew him can attest to.

Ken had a huge work ethic, even in his later years, and was committed to his clients and known for his competitiveness.

He loved sharing his knowledge, especially with young people starting out in agriculture.

He would say to his jackeroos and jillaroos that there are 168 hours in a week so there should be plenty of time to get stuff done, and on weekends to get up early, so they could have a longer day off.

Ken had a very deep sense of community and helped out wherever he could, being involved quietly in a number of groups, or acting alone.

Ken was born in Shepparton on February 10, 1937, the only child of Harold and Mabel McCrabb.

He grew up on a mixed farm at Wunghu and accelerated through primary school at Drumanure, riding 10km each way on his pony from the age of six.

The trips home were often punctuated with detours and races with his school mates.

Ken started his first day as a boarder in Year 7 at Albury Grammar School on his 11th birthday.

By this stage the family had moved to Cobram East and Mabel was milking eight cows morning and night, separating the cream to help pay the school fees.

In 1950 the original 3000 acres of Avenel (at Wanganella) were purchased by Harold and Mabel.

Ken spent many of his school holidays with Tom Austin of Wanganella Station, who took him under his wing.

This was where his passion for Merino sheep began, and grew. So much so, that he even convinced his father to move to Merino sheep and by 1953 Harold had formed a Merino stud, purchased 93 Wanganella Estate ewes with lambs at foot and a Wanganella ram. The seed was sown.

Ken was 16 in his final year at Albury Grammar where he completed his Leaving Certificate and his Woolclassing Certificate.

He couldn’t wait to get his hands dirty.

After a stint jackerooing at Hermidale, Ken was summoned home. His initiation was cutting thistles across the whole of Avenel, using a mattock.

In later life he would give all his grandchildren a burr hoe each.

Ken started woolclassing locally, even without his driver’s licence, and by the age of 17 was running four-stand sheds.

He went on to class sheds for eight years part-time in the Scotia belt of western NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania and held his classing stencil for 60 years.

By 1961 Ken realised there was more money in mulesing, and became the first mulesing contractor regularly operating in Victoria, south-east South Australia and western NSW.

He would drive to Bonegilla Immigration Camp near Wodonga and pick up catchers who had just gotten off a boat from Europe.

He would give them a night or two at Avenel and then travel onto Broken Hill to catch sheep for the mulesing team.

Those were the days when five year-old ewes and wethers were mulesed while being held over a rail. No cradles. Welcome to Australia.

Ken met Mary at a hunt in Deniliquin in 1961 and they married in December 1962 at St Davids in Albury on a stinking hot day, and then honeymooned on Kangaroo Island.

Harold and Mabel retired and moved to Deniliquin and Ken and Mary took over Avenel in 1963 with 800 sheep and a few shorthorn cattle. Two years later they purchased nearby Willow Downs and started to expand.

Their partnership was meant to be. Ken’s love of sheep, Mary’s love of dogs, and they both had a passion for horses.

Their first son, Colin arrived in 1964, followed by Peter two years later.

Their earliest memories of their father all seem to be on horseback. Ken on a stockhorse mustering, the boys on their ponies and dogs at their heels.

Growing up at Avenel was all about horses, dogs, sheep and the milking cow. Look out if you ever forgot to lock up the milker’s calf the night before.

School holiday trips were always interesting. They were not your usual trip to the coast or the snow.

They were along the lines of: the horse float with a bunch of wethers in it to be delivered to a wether trial somewhere, a couple of dog crates full of pups in the back of the Falcon station wagon to be delivered on the way, often a young kangaroo Mary was raising, once even a possum, and of course the family Labrador.

They would just camp on the side of the road, Col and Pete in the old canvas tent and Ken and Mary under the stars.

On the way home, Ken could not waste an empty horse float. They would wheel into a quarter horse stud and pick up a stallion, or once it was a mare and young foal.

Peter remembers when he was around 10 years old, accompanying his dad on classing trips or to a sheep show where Ken was judging.

On the way back, when Ken got tired, he would hand over the driving to Peter on a long stretch between towns.

There would always be a cushion for the young driver to sit on so he could see over the steering wheel and a hat to wear so he would look older if a police officer went past.

Later on, on his solo classing trips, it was just Ken and his dog.

At one stage he was classing 70 flocks around Australia, from Julia Creek in Queensland to the Eyre Peninsula in Australia and all over NSW and Victoria, covering enormous distances.

He would travel at night between clients, and would often just swag it on the side of the road which wouldn’t always lead to a good night’s sleep.

So Ken decided he needed to find a quieter place to camp, and he did one day. He found a spot where there was plenty of room to park the Landcruiser and classing trailer, lawn to roll his swag on, no-one around, and no traffic.

It was the Peak Hill Cemetery.

From then on, he could always tell his family which country towns had the best cemeteries to camp at. It was a tactic other members of the family have since employed at some stage.

With Ken’s passion for learning always active, the family went on a world study tour to India, Europe, England and the US when the boys were still toddlers, looking at the future trends within the wool and apparel industry.

The upshot was Ken saw a need to reduce micron whilst maintaining fleece weight and do-ability in all environments.

In 1971 the Avenel Merino Stud was registered, with Avenel as home base.

In 1974, a particularly wet year, they purchased North Bundy, 18,000 acres west of Booroorban.

This became the flock property which saw much success in Wether Trials and National Ewe Competitions.

Ken was heavily involved in the introduction of irrigation along the Billabong Creek and sat on the Board of the Yanco Creek and Tributaries Advisory Council for many years.

Ken also had a strong sense of community with his involvement in the Murray Valley Hunt Club, Deniliquin Pony Club and organising the Wanganella, Booroorban and Pretty Pine Gymkhanas to raise funds for their respective community halls.

Ken and Mary raised over $23,000 when they decided to hold a fundraiser at the new Avenel woolshed for the fire victims in the Eyre Peninsula in 2005.

Last year they both received their Rural Fire Service life memberships of the Wanganella Brigade. Ken had been a member for more than 63 years, including captain for more than 15 years.

One of the last family holidays for Ken and Mary was when Peter flew them to see Lake Eyre in his four-seater aircraft, which they bought a share in some 30 years ago.

Unlike on childhood holidays, due to weight and balance limitation, there were no rams or pups to deliver, Mary had no pet kangaroo and there was no family Labrador.

Even though they had no deliveries to make, they did class plenty of sheep and trained a few dogs over the bar at the William Creek and Birdsville hotels.

For many years, Ken’s favourite civic duty was reporting the rainfall. “Ken from Wanganella” was meticulous in his rainfall reporting to ABC Riverina as he felt that people should know what was happening in the western end of the Riverina.

Ken McCrabb signed off on December 24, aged 88, surrounded by his family – who are waiting for the next rainfall event.