The son of Tobruk veteran, “Harry” Beasley and WRENS signaller, Hazel (“Haze”), Rick Beasley grew up in the Chinchilla area, educated by correspondence, then at Baking Board Primary and Chinchilla High School. A ready learner, Rick graduated young from high school and then from Gatton College’s inaugural Diploma in Animal Husbandry (which later became UQ Veterinary Science).
Ringbarking 300 acres of ironbark, bulldozing and earthmoving (including building dams for the Area 2 Brigalow Scheme in the late 1960’s using self-elevating scrapers) further equipped Rick for a meaningful role in the DPI . There, his inquiring mind and real life experience underpinned a remarkable career in developing objective livestock measurement and traceability in the beef industry, culminating in the National Livestock Identification Scheme.
Rick writes:
“It has been my pleasure to work with the TOCAH volunteer recorder over many hours to document my involvement in the beef industry in Queensland. The detail of information recorded was amazing and accurate.
The work of recording this era will rapidly be lost as our generation is rapidly dwindling.
I believe that the work done by TOCAH is very important in documenting a period of tremendous change in the beef industry in Australia which is now one of the most efficient in the world and the envy of most other beef producing countries around the world. This has been achieved by so many dedicated professionals and I am proud that my small contribution has been documented.
I wish TOCAH all the best with this ambitious work.”
