Landmark and western Queensland local Boyd Curran have this week unveiled a partnership agreement that will see Boyd leading the agency’s business in its Blackall, Longreach and Winton branches.
Based at Longreach, Boyd says he is keen to work with the “great people staffing the three branches who have already built strong relationships in the community” and cement lifelong business partnerships from that.
Landmark’s south Queensland general manager Damon Ferguson has welcomed the announcement, saying it was an injection of confidence in an area that has experienced such hardship in recent times.
“It also highlights the strong belief from a local in the long-term prospects for agriculture in western Queensland,” he said.
“The Curran family has a long connection with both Landmark and western Queensland going back nearly 70 years when Boyd's grandfather Pat drew Maree Downs at Blackall in 1949 and conducted all his business with New Zealand Loan, which later merged with Dalgety on the way to becoming Landmark.
“The partnership with Boyd reaffirms Landmark's commitment to western Queensland by combining a strong local connection with Landmark's global footprint.”
Boyd said his vision was to go back to the holistic relationship that once existed between between stock and station agencies, saying this was what attracted his family to Landmark.
“Their business model has a range of services – livestock, property, wool, merchandise, insurance and niche financial products – and our competitive advantage is that we’re locals.”
Boyd and his wife Mandy recently sold Longreach block Dalmore for $105/acre but still own Talleyrand, which is currently feeding two pet goats, 320 sheep and 20 horses.
“Drought builds character, and we’re in the same position as many people – what do we do when it rains,” Boyd said. “That’s part of the attraction for this. We want partnerships for the long term, seeking solutions.”
He said he would be acting with empathy, coming from a producer background and knowing what people were going through, ultimately aiming to provide a framework for people wanting to do extraordinary things.
“We want to attract the sort of people who believe in that philosophy,” Boyd added. “Doing things the way they’ve always been done doesn’t interest me.”
He pointed to his own business journey as an example of what could be done with such a philosophy.
“Twenty-five years ago I built a hay-baling business in the Northern Territory which became the biggest in Australia, before moving onto the successful spelling facility at Cloncurry, and running Lawn Hill and Riversleigh and creating world-leading programs for some of the most disadvantaged people in Australia,” he said.
“I see this as a natural progression. This is an industry we love and this is an integral part of keeping community spirit going in outback Queensland.
“If our clients are strong, we’re going to have strong communities.”
One of Boyd’s grandfathers, Boogie Rushbrook was a stock and station agent and a cattle and sheep dealer who owned property all over Australia.
“Perhaps it’s in my blood,” he said.
He also described his father-in-law Russell Pearson as “one of the great deal-makers in recent history” and providing a successful model to follow.
