Mill flourishes under leadership
Pat had positive attitude to life
PATRICK William O’Brien was born on May 1, 1922, at Finchley Hospital, Mort St, Toowoomba.
He was the second of eight children to Thomas Patrick (known as TP) and Muriel Gladys O’Brien (nee Wightman).
Importantly at that time, he was the oldest son, which would play a determining factor in the rather charmed life he would ultimately lead.
He grew up in his parents’ large, ramshackle home in Bridge St, Toowoomba, with the built-in verandas, the huge yard all around and the stables out the back.
Pat had an older sister Mary, younger brothers Bill and Tom, younger sisters Cele and Bernadette and then twin baby brothers Tony and Ted.
The O’Briens were staunchly Catholic and three of his siblings went on to become a priest and nuns.
Young Pat attended Holy Name Catholic School, just up the road in Bridge St, and St Mary’s Christian Brothers College from Grade 4.
It was during his childhood Pat developed a great passion for rugby league.
He had four younger brothers to practise with at home.
As a fast and gangly, redheaded halfback for All Whites, he was a prime target for opposition teams. When he talked of those days, he would mention a long list of names of big forwards, many of whom lumped wheat and flour at the Defiance Mill, who basically acted as his protectors, both on and off the field.
As a result, he flourished in the game in his early adult years, represented the mighty Toowoomba Clydesdales and was selected to play for Queensland but couldn’t play as the war years intervened.
The family’s decision to send Pat’s younger brothers to Downlands was also fortuitous for him as it was there that he met a young secretary to the principal, Frances McMahon, who would ultimately far outshine his interest in Rugby League.
She was indeed the love of his life and they were married on April 7, 1947, Pat aged 24 and Frances 26.
In another stroke of good fortune, his father, TP, had bought four blocks of land on the corner of Campbell and Mackenzie streets and generously gifted two each to Pat and Bill as wedding presents.
The block was across the road from a new Catholic school, Mater Dei and Catholic church, then Holy Angels.
Pat’s family would live in, and progressively expand this home for the next 60 years of incredibly happy marriage until Frances passed away in August 2007, aged 87.
On leaving school, Pat, without question, went to work for the family business.
His grandfather, also Patrick O’Brien, had built a flour mill in Russell St in 1898, at the urging of the various customers of his pubs and shops, in “defiance” of the flour milling monopoly that existed at the time.
He named it the Defiance Milling Company and then promptly died, leaving the business and 10 young children to his wife, Ellen, to run.
The business eventually passed to one of her sons, TP O’Brien, Pat’s father, at an early age.
The Defiance business continued on largely unchanged as a small, yet successful, independent mill in Toowoomba for many years.
When TP became ill, Pat, as the eldest of the three boys, including Bill and Tom who had now joined the business, had to step up to manage the business in the early 1960s.
‘‘ THE FINAL DECISION TO SELL THE BUSINESS IN 1996 WAS PROBABLY THE MOST TRAUMATIC EVENT IN HIS LIFE BUT ONE HE STUCK WITH BECAUSE, TRUE TO HIS UNWAVERING COMMITMENT TO FAMILY FIRST, HE BELIEVED IT WAS ULTIMATELY IN THE BEST INTEREST OF ALL OF THE EXTENDED FAMILY.
With his two brothers at his side, they led an amazing expansion of the business which by the early 1990s included 11 flour mills and 15 plant bakeries in Australia and New Zealand as well as various other businesses including frozen foods, stockfeed and agricultural supplies and extensive export markets throughout the Pacific and into Asia.
Known in the business as “PW” (there were too many O’Briens to call them Mr O’Brien) or “Mr Pat”, he was a well-respected leader and loved by many who worked for him over the years.
The business was spectacularly successful under the leadership of the three brothers and Defiance Mills was listed as a public company in 1976.
The final decision to sell the business in 1996 was probably the most traumatic event in his life, but one he stuck with because, true to his unwavering commitment to family first, he believed it was ultimately in the best interest of all of the extended family.
Pat and Francis had a remarkable and enduring love and life and together they had eight children.
Pat also had a commitment to volunteer work with the St Vincent De Paul Society, quietly working with the most underprivileged of Toowoomba for many years.
He was also on the Board of St Vincent’s Hospital for 22 years from 1970 to1992, with two years as chairman.
Generous to a T, Pat put enough money through the plate at Mater Dei to build this church several times over. In addition to his deeply religious commitment to charitable causes, he was also a prominent member of the Rotary Club of Toowoomba, serving at least one term as president. He was also a life member of the Toowoomba Golf Club, to where he escaped at least twice a week, including on a Wednesday afternoon. In August 2008 Pat moved into Marycrest Hospital, Brisbane, where his eldest daughter Brenda would be his primary carer for many years.
Of all the qualities Pat enjoyed, it was his positive attitude to life that was a standout. Nothing would phase him.
In later life he told his children: “Hell, I’ve had a good life. I can’t believe how lucky I’ve been. I have a wonderful wife and a great family. Nothing really bad has ever happened to me. I don’t know why I’ve been so lucky.”
Pat O’Brien’s funeral was held at St Theresa’s Church in Toowoomba on May 29.
He is survived by seven of his eight children, 25 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.