Roy Standfast, a generous life of community
Successful businessman and pioneer
‘‘ I HAVE THREE GOOD FEEDS A DAY AND HALF A WARM BED TO SLEEP IN EACH NIGHT. WHAT MORE COULD I WANT?
ROY STANDFAST
ROY Standfast was the first of four boys born to Frank and Mabel Standfast at Pomona on the Sunshine Coast.
He was the beloved husband of Elaine (dec’d), and dearly loved father and father-in-law of Lynn and Ian Sharpe, Robyn (dec’d) and Russell Cross, and Scott and Gaye Standfast.
He is survived by eight grandchildren and nine greatgrandchildren.
He was first and foremost a family man but he was also a very successful businessman and he took a great interest in agriculture and agricultural science and he made an outstanding contribution to his local community.
Family
Roy told many stories of growing up on the dairy and pineapple farm which he loved.
He remembered bringing the cows in for milking before school. He would then ride to school on his pony.
This started his love affair with horses which would stay with him for the rest of his life.
In 1946/47 Roy went to Gatton College (now UQ Gatton) to complete years 9 and 10. He looked back on his time at Gatton with great fondness.
In the late 40s the family moved to Brisbane where they owned and operated a corner store in Carina.
Roy was not a city boy, and he got a job for Dependable Motors at St George working for Clarry Jones as a spare parts man.
In 1951 Roy stepped off a Folker Friendship at St George aged 20 with his life’s possessions in a single suit case.
Roy loved his early days at St George and he told many stories of the Moonie highway/ goat track, 200 miles of dirt from St George to Dalby with its nine gates and 11 dry creek crossings.
Roy met his soon-to-be wife Elaine in St George. She lived across the road from Dependable Motors with her parents Jack and Merle Fielder and sister Loretta.
They were married in St Stephens Cathedral in Brisbane on April 19, 1954, and three children were born during the following years.
Business
Together with local grazier/ businessman Ian Paul, Roy established the St George Produce Agency, and went on to take over the local BP fuel business and to sell farm machinery.
The St George irrigation area was developing and this was a perfect place for the young entrepreneur.
The St George Produce Agency became Mitre 10 and then Standfast Farm Supplies was established to sell farm inputs to a rapidly-developing irrigated agriculture.
Roy ultimately went on to serve on the board of Mitre 10.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s the cotton industry was in its infancy. Only a few of the original irrigation farmers remained in the area and Standfast Farm Supplies provided the inputs of fuel, fertiliser and pesticides.
Roy knew everyone and was a pioneer for agriculture in the region. His influence was remarkable and not many people would have known how much he did for the local community. He had loyal staff and a rapidly growing business.
He supplied fertiliser and, in many cases, offered crop credit, sharing the risk as the inputs were a very substantial cost for the farmers.
He took a great interest in agronomy and soil science and crop protection and provided a reliable source of information to the farmers.
He had an enormous positive impact on the farming community.
In the late 70s Roy and Elaine sold the Mitre 10 store and moved to Bundoran Road to focus on Standfast Farm Supplies.
Roy realised a life-time dream and completed his pilot’s licence and a hanger was built to house CGG, the Cessna 182.
Roy and Elaine moved to the Sunshine Coast in the early 1990s and Lynn and Scott ran the business, until they were approached to sell in 1995. Roy and Elaine fully retired from this point.
Community
Roy was president and committee member for the local show society, for which he was awarded life membership.
He was secretary of the St George Jockey club for 16 years straight and was awarded life membership, as well as president and committee member for the St George Club.
He also provided other community services. He issued the speed boat licences for the region. Being a small town, many of the government services were delivered this way and Roy was very good at it.
A great friend to many.
Roy had some great sayings. Even though his business was clearly operating very well, he carried a lot of risk and most people in his position would spend their time worrying about it.
Roy used to say: “I have three good feeds a day and half a warm bed to sleep in each night. What more could I want?”
A great philosophy of life! On Friday, November 2, we celebrated Roy’s life. He made a wonderful contribution to St George and to agriculture in SW Queensland.