In bush circles Jean is probably best known for her contribution, along with her late husband Alan, to the cattle industry - particularly the Braford breed and for her involvement in the Women’s Section of the National Party and her local community.
Jean was born on 11th December, 1923 in Gloucester, NSW, the second youngest of six daughters. She spent most of her young life in and around Sydney where she was educated and undertook her nursing training.
A visit to Mackay in 1946 to help care for her sister Clair’s children was to change her life forever. Jean attended a Gatton Old Boy’s dinner where she drew admiration from a young whipper snapper Alan Shannon. He was besotted with the Sydney girl, recalling that she was wearing a powder blue dress. Despite Jean’s initial impression of him being rather rude because he kept staring at her, the rest, as they say, is history and they were married on April 5, 1948 at St Phillip’s, Church Hill, Sydney.
Jean’s upbringing in the Depression and her nursing career were to stand her in good stead for the isolation and challenges that life on the remote Brigalow property, Cardowan, on the Connors River, 140km south west of Mackay, was to bring. Her capacity for work, her thriftiness, pragmatism, loyalty and resilience were useful character traits when living on the land, raising and educating five children.
Similar to many bush women of this era, Jean’s only contact with her family (or the city) was a 70-mile-long single wire phone line which was extremely tenuous. This party line was maintained by the nine individual parties on the line but access for maintenance was difficult and outages due to short circuits were common.
Jean has been described as the ‘Florence Nightingale’ of the Connors River Basin.
Jean has been described as the ‘Florence Nightingale’ of the Connors River Basin. She was often called upon to help out in a crisis, and was reportedly never flustered. She was allocated the first Royal Flying Doctor Service first aid chest, which became most critical to both locals and travellers in that part of the world.
Jean and Alan owned a Hereford herd which they then infused with Brahman and later became one of the foundation members of the Australian Braford Society. They set up a stud recording with the assistance of one of the first on-farm computers provided by Saltbush Computers, co-owned by their son Ralph.
Indeed, Jean was one of the first rural men or women to tackle computer technology and Cardowan became somewhat of a farm computing guinea pig.
They began showing stud cattle in the early 1970s and their first on-property bull sale was also held around this time. This was in addition to Cardowan’s successful record in trade cattle sections at both Rockhampton and Mackay shows. In collaboration with the Department of Primary Industries, they hosted a large field day showcasing cattle, pasture and irrigated crops in 1974. Among their proudest achievements at this time was breeding two outstanding bulls, Advance and Ironman.
Alan’s increasing involvement in the Central Coast Graziers and the Broadsound Shire Council meant the day-to-day operation of Cardowan increasingly fell to Jean.
With the help of many loyal employees, Jean ensured the smooth running of the property while also teaching her children, via distance education. She also ran the office and station store.
During this time, Jean gradually became involved in many aspects of the local community, including Pony Club, and the Country Party (later the National Party). She also also helped co-author the Shannon Saga, the story of the John Shannon pastoral family for the centenary celebrations at Saltbush Park on 27th August 1972.
The many and varied bush tasks she not only took in her stride, but mastered. This was due to her expectations of excellence in herself and others, and great self-discipline. ‘If a job is worth doing, it’s worth doing well’ was not only one of her favourite sayings, but something she lived by. We are told Jean was viewed as a mentor to many other women in the district. Her practical approach to motherhood and living in the bush was apparently valued by other women feeling the isolation and absence of communication and support.
Jean’s nursing skills were put to good use as she regularly attended to horse falls and other livestock-related accidents on the property. She was also called to regular car accidents on the Bruce Highway and was instrumental in setting up a bush nursing centre at Clarke Creek.
Jean was recognised for these and her other community commitments in the book ‘Who’s Who of Australian Women’ in the 1970s. Around this time she was also appointed to a 15-member Council of Queensland Women to advise the government on women’s rights.
As her children reached independence, Jean became more involved in off-property interests such as the Women’s Section of the National Party in Mackay. She relished the sharing of political views, friendships and camaraderie that these experiences offered.
In 1992, Jean and Alan left their beloved Cardowan, to enthusiastically embrace life at Montville on the Blackall Range in the Sunshine Coast hinterland. Immersing themselves in the local community, they became involved in the local Anglican parish of St Mary’s, the Maleny Art Show and Meals on Wheels, and were instrumental in setting up a Kids’ Club and a Soccer Club.
After approximately 10 years at Montville, Alan suffered a substantial stroke and they moved into their own home at Palmwoods Village. It was here that Jean passed away after a long, productive and fulfilling life. Her giving attitude and unselfish commitment to industry and community earned her respect and warm admiration wherever she lived.
Jean will be greatly missed by her children, Ross, Cynthia, Ralph, John and Jenny, their partners and her 15 grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren.
