WITH over five decades in the industry to look back on, Southern Grampians Livestock and Real Estate (SGLRE) agent, John Lawson, has hung up his hat for the last time this week and moved into a well-earned retirement.

Looking after farmers in the Coleraine and Balmoral areas over such a long time, John has seen it all.

He has been part of the prosperity and challenges in local farming, along with technology working its way into the industry, and he might possibly have sold just about every house in Coleraine.

Despite a final hurrah from a full career, he said boredom is not likely to be part of his life.

“No, I’ve got plenty of things to do,” he said.

“We’re going to France on the big long boats on the river and I want to go to Antarctica, I might do that ... just get on a scenic cruise and go.

“I’ve got six cars, so I can put a bit of time into them – Porsches and MGs and GT Falcons and things.”

The grandkids are in Ballarat and Melbourne, a daughter in Queensland, also a brother in Cairns and a sister on Bribie Island in the same state will also keep him driving and flying around regularly.

Winding back the clock to the beginning of his jobs journey, John similarly reels off a list of localities that he’s worked in – and it’s not short.

“I started as an accountant with Elders (in Melbourne) and then went from there to Warracknabeal as a booking clerk,” he said.

“From there to Casterton … to Coleraine to Nhill, Coleraine, Casterton, Seymour, Mansfield, back to Coleraine and Balmoral.”

In June 2014, John came to work at SGLRE, and it apparently didn’t take him long before he became part of the culture, with his wide experience, story-telling and good-natured humour something business manager and partner, Leah Bast, reflected on.

“There hasn’t been a dull moment, that’s for sure,” she said.

“He certainly is a bit of a character and he has the odd joke when he comes into the office – we’ll miss him.

“(His experience is) very special and unique – not many people spend 51 years in the one industry – it’s an amazing achievement.

Asked what made John’s know-how so important, Ms Bast was quick to answer.

“Just the care factor with his clients and the friendships,” she said.

The list of notable jobs he’s done is impressive too.

“I’ve done clearance sales for prime ministers,” John said.

“I’ve sold well over a million dollars-worth of old stuff for the army out at Seymour that came back from Vietnam – a lot of gear there.

“I sold the Casterton Kelpie auction for the first nine out of 10 years.

“(I was) instrumental in getting the first alpacas into Australia.”

Despite doing “a million clearance sales, which I enjoy doing” and even some car sales, including “106 cars out at Coleraine where we had 5000 people”, he’s clear on what has been the centre of his motivation.

“Livestock’s my passion, it’s always been my passion since I was a little child at the farm at Horsham, and (I) always wanted to do it,” John said.

“I went out to the farm looking at lambs with dad when I was seven.

“(I saw) a stock agent who in later times I ended up working with – Jack McKenzie from Horsham – and I said when I got home, ‘Dad, I want to be a stock agent when I grow up.’

“‘Oh, well, we’ll see’, he said.”

He’s seen firsthand the development of online auctions starting as a project from the University of New England in Armidale called New England Livestock Computer Marketing (NELCM), which in turn was one of the forerunners to another system called Computer Aided Livestock Marketing (CALM) which started in 1987.

“AuctionsPlus, I’ve been involved in all that right from the dot,” John said.

“(After NELCM and CALM) I was accredited from there just automatically into AuctionsPlus (where) I’ve done sheep and cattle for many, many years.

“Coleraine used to have a circuit sale on Nareen Station and all those with about 1200 cattle – I used to have to do every one of them on my own.”

John laughs about how he originally considered technology.

“I started as an accountant with Elders in Melbourne, and they said, ‘Computers are coming - would you stay on?’ and I said, ‘No – computers, they won’t last, I’m not staying here’,” he said.

“So that’s when I went out into the bush where I wanted to be.”

But he admitted that he came around to seeing the benefits of technology for dealing with livestock.

“You’ve got to go with it – don’t sit on your hands,” John said.

“You’ve got to go with new technology or you’ll get left behind.”

With retirement now here for real, The Spectator asked him how his family felt about the change in lifestyle.

“They all think it’s a pretty good idea,” John said.

“It takes a while to adjust.”

John said he was grateful for his career with all the companies he’s been with.

“32 years with Elders, 10 with Landmark and nine with Southern Grampians,” he said.

“I’ve never seen anything like it, the way the industry has been. It’s been very kind to us.

“So, I’ve really enjoyed the last nine years. Great crew, good people. Loved it.”