Nola Marino (Forrest, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to acknowledge the life and achievements of respected agripolitician Sir Donald Eckersley, who was born in Harvey in 1922 and died in Harvey on 12 April this year. This paragraph from the local Harvey Reporter newspaper probably says it all:

Born in humble surroundings at his parents’ house in Korijekup Avenue, Harvey in 1922, Sir Don Eckersley served his community and country, travelled the length and breadth of Australia and the world, lobbied and befriended politicians, governors and prime minsters and was knighted by the Queen …

One of seven Eckersley children growing up in what was then a small agricultural community, Sir Don applied himself to his studies, attending the Muresk Institute of Agriculture, graduating in 1941. He enlisted with the RAAF, serving as a navigator in Darwin and Queensland. He was hospitalised during his time in North Queensland and it was during this time that his plane and crew failed to return from a mission. After the war ended, his love of the land saw Sir Don come back to work in Harvey as a dairy farmer in 1946, marrying his wonderful 60-year partner, his lovely wife, Marjorie, in 1949. The couple raised three children, who, with their parents, all enjoyed family gatherings, holidays at the beach, fishing and sharing their father’s love of the ocean and boating.

It was during the early years of his marriage that Sir Don became involved in the WA Farmers Union at Cookernup, a little town close to his home. He went on to become the regional vice-president as well as the president of the milk section of the WA Farmers Union and then general president of it for three years from 1972-1975. During this time, he was negotiating and lobbying for agricultural and farming issues, dealing at all levels of government, state and federal, and with both Gough Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser. He was a persistent, quiet worker who made an enormous contribution to Western Australian and Australian agriculture. His main achievement was his considerable efforts to bring a diversity of farmer representative groups and bodies together, which led to the formation of the National Farmers Federation. Sir Don was the inaugural president of this organisation in 1979, and it was this achievement that earned him his knighthood.

Sir Don contributed to local government, as a Harvey shire councillor and president, and he continued to represent agricultural and regional interests on boards and agencies throughout the south-west of Western Australia. He became a member of the Senate of the University of WA and as well worked as a company director. He was a talented sportsman, which was not surprising given his love of sport. He was a competitive cyclist and tennis player. He was a respected golfer, enjoying countless rounds of golf throughout his life. He received many awards: WA Citizen of the Year, an OBE, Man of the Year in Agriculture and an honorary doctorate. He was inducted into the Royal Agricultural Society’s Hall of Fame. He travelled around the world but he was always a farmer at heart. He contributed to the community and it is only fitting that Sir Don died at his home. He will be remembered and respected by everyone who knew him and worked with him. He will be loved most of all by his wife, his children and grandchildren, who will remember him as a husband, a father and a grandfather. Vale, Sir Donald Eckersley.

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