AS a teenager from Georgetown in the Mid North, Geoff Wellington was offered two jobs on the same day - one working in the local bank and the other with a stock agency.
Almost 58 years on, he has no doubt he made the right choice choosing the latter.
After a decade spent as a livestock agent he has gone on to buy livestock in nearly every state of Australia.
Along the way he has gained enormous respect from producers, agents and processors he has had dealings with and formed many firm friendships.
"I have been lucky, I have been paid to go and spend their money and also see Australia," Geoff said.
It all began at Farmers Union at Gladstone when Geoff commenced as a junior clerk on March 4, 1964. His weekly pay cheque was just nine pounds and 15 shillings.
Gladstone held a fortnightly sale and had just started a pig market, which grew into one of the largest in SA, often yarding 2000-3000 head.
In 1965 Geoff moved to Wirrabara as a stock salesperson, which he says was a great experience with the area renowned for its Merino breeding.
"In those days we would have to sell them and then the train would come in and you would load 90 per cent of them onto the rail to come to the South East or wherever they went," he said.
The following year he moved to Naracoorte with Southern Farmers, where he would remain until 1974.
Geoff says he couldn't have asked for a better branch manager in the late Don Humphrys who was a great mentor.
"What he couldn't do he wouldn't expect you to do," he said.
Each Monday morning prior to the meeting he remembers Don inspecting all the agents' cars lined up outside the office and any staff that had dust or mud on theirs were promptly told to get them clean.
"As a person he said you start the week on the right note which I have always remembered," he said.
Southern Farmers held two big sales a month in the old yards by the rail siding.
About a year after arriving in Naracoorte, Geoff started auctioneering at a few clearing sales and from 1969 was the main auctioneer for Southern Farmers, selling at Bordertown and Keith on alternate Mondays, as well as Lucindale, Kingston SE and Naracoorte.
He also sold at the multi-vendor bull sales.
"I always had a fascination to do it and used to drive along in the car practising selling posts," he said.
In January 1974, Geoff and his wife Marg and their children moved to Adelaide for Geoff to begin as the SA and NT buyer with family-owned company R.J Gilbertson Pty Ltd, which had just opened a branch at Gepps Cross.
In its heyday the Gilbertson family owned 120 butcher shops in Melbourne, Vic, as well as extensive landholdings.
Geoff admits being nervous stepping up to the rail against experienced buyers but soon found his place.
"After the first sale I remember saying to the late Bob Rowe "How much are my cows Bob?" and him saying to me 'you can't make a big blue mate, they are about eight cents a pound'," he said.
"If your boss reckons you have made a blue tell him he is wrong, a 400 pound cow was about $32."
There were often three sales a week held at Gepps Cross with thousands of cattle unloaded off trains. Geoff's weekly buying tally was usually about 700 cattle as well as lambs for the local trade.
Later on he also bought bacon pigs and sows for Dons Smallgoods, owned by RJ Gilbertson.
While many northern cattle were sent south Geoff also has very fond memories of buying trips to central Australia and also buying for the Tennant Creek abattoir which RJ Gilbertson acquired.
"The people on the stations were absolutely magnificent and they always wanted to know what was going on down south," he said.
"They would bring a whole paddock in and the bulls would go, the cows would go, the steers would go and the vealers would go."
Many nights the buyers enjoyed the hospitality of the station owners but Geoff remembers one night spent in a prison cell at the Kulgera, NT, Police Station- although the door was not locked.
"We had bought cattle and had to load them on the train at Kulgera that afternoon. At about 6pm or 7pm we were at the Kulgera Hotel when someone said 'where are we going to sleep tonight?'," he said.
"One of the police officers said 'no worries, you blokes come over with us'."
In 1984 he returned to Naracoorte with Gilbertsons as their South East buyer for another five years until "rumblings" about the company's future.
Geoff then briefly returned to the agency game, starting Hamlyn & Wellington in 1989 with Glen Hamlyn, which he said was a "lot of fun".
Soon after though he was approached by Fred Herd from M.C Herd of Geelong, Vic, to be their SE buyer.
"I had a great 20 years with them, it was a great family company," he said.
It was a lot of travelling though with Geoff often clocking up nearly 3000 kilometres a week.
"I had 15 years of going to Adelaide on a Sunday afternoon to do the Dublin market on a Monday, (then) it was not unusual to be at Horsham, Vic, that night, then Warracknabeal, Vic, then Wagga Wagga, NSW, on a Thursday and Griffith, NSW, on a Friday before a 700km trip home," he said.
When the season was on he also spent several weeks away buying vealers at sales in northern NSW and flew down to Tas for their blue ribbon sales.
Geoff's final decade of work has been spent as a commission buyer, a role he took on after the retirement of great friend Peter Hardiman and grew further with his own contacts.
His main client was Australian Lamb Company at Colac, Vic, buying tens of thousands of trade lambs for them, but he also bought for many beef wholesalers and even producer restockers, with Marg doing the accounts for their Wellington Livestock business.
Geoff acknowledges none of his success would not have been possible without Marg's unwavering support.
Now 75 years of age, Geoff says he "knew it was time" to close the buying book and spend more time relaxing with family, as well as travelling at a more leisurely pace.
"The cattle job was no problem but it was getting harder walking around the sheep yards, especially after a knee replacement," he said.
"A few people have said 'You can work until you are 80'.
"I'm not doing that because I have seen too many people retire too late."
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