JOHN KENSIT
October 30, 1924 – December 15, 2015
THE Australian livestock industry recently lost a much admired and respected man.
A modest, yet multi-talented John Frederick Kensit was born in Crookwell to Fred and Merle Kensit on October 30, 1924.
John was synonymous with livestock, a skilled sportsman and family was at the core of who he was.
John grew up on the family property “Llandillo”, Crookwell – a name that would become renowned in the beef industry for its Poll Shorthorn and Poll Hereford herds, which ran alongside a Merino flock which was home to champions.
Yet, his career on the land began somewhat earlier than originally anticipated.
While the Jerrara Primary School graduate shone during his years at Canberra Grammar, where he excelled in sport; namely rugby, hockey and cricket, his formal education was cut short due to the Second World War.
John had to leave Canberra Grammar prematurely. The “Llandillo” staff had enlisted and his father needed him to help run the property when he was only 16.
Little did he know, he had begun on a path for a successful, respected career, which would carry influence among his peers.
In addition to running a large commercial flock of Merinos and cattle, John also successfully bred and exhibited stud livestock.
He founded the Evermore Merino stud in 1952 with a handful of ewes from Merryville, then at Yass.
Maybe his two biggest successes were Merino ewes, both exhibited in the 1960s at the Sydney Royal Show.
A simple man who did ordinary things extraordinarily well
The first was Lady Gillian – three times shown in Sydney and three times sashed grand champion ewe. Lady Gillian was never beaten. It has been said Lady Gillian was as good a sheep as any that has ever been bred, years before her time.
In 1963 he had another ewe named Lady Helen which was also grand champion in Sydney.
The stud had a large commercial clientele, and in the early 1980s joined three other local Merino studs to conduct an annual circuit sale of stud Merino rams held on individual properties across four successive days.
This proved a popular format for many years with Evermore achieving sale averages on many occasions near the top of the entire Merino industry for on-farm production sales.
He also founded the Llandillo Poll Shorthorn stud with his father, Fred, in 1958.
As a regular exhibitor at the Dubbo National Show and Sale, Llandillo achieved the top price on numerous occasions and held several breed record sales. Through the years, bulls were sold to all states of Australia, New Zealand and even China.
In 1984, as trends swung away from the breed, John dispersed the Poll Shorthorn stud.
The subsequent sale broke several long-standing breed records, including top cow price, top joined heifer price, top unjoined heifer price and largest grossof a Shorthorn stud dispersal at the time – testament to the depth of the herd he had bred from just six heifers.
From his herd came one of the best Shorthorn females the breed had ever seen in Llandillo Teltail, the dam of several record priced progeny.
Coinciding with the time the Shorthorn dispersal, John and his son Hilton founded the Llandillo Poll Hereford stud, also in 1984, to cater for the growing demand of that breed in their local area.
In 1988 they held their first annual bull sale which would become a significant feature in the breed’s annual sale calendar, again achieving sale averages near the top of the breed on numerous occasions.
The stud also exhibited successfully at the Sydney Royal Show, however, the Poll Hereford herd was also eventually sold in 2000, this time as a going concern to the Neradosky family at Bathurst and continues today.
In addition to sheep and cattle, John had a deep love for Thoroughbreds, too, and was a keen racing man, but never gambled.
Not only was John a great breeder of livestock, he was a great judge, a pursuit he undertook with great humility – a fact recognised by his peers, as he was invited and accepted to judge both Merino sheep and beef cattle at every Royal show in the country, a feat not before bestowed on anybody.
He was also invited to judge overseas on several occasions, but always declined as he did not enjoy travelling. However, there was much more to John than his livestock, as talented in that pursuit as he may have been.
He was a representative hockey player for NSW, and cricket, playing for NSW country, for several years.
John was also the captain of the local bush fire brigade for 20 years, and he was at the helm in 1975 when the most devastating bushfire the area had seen tore through the district. He led his colleagues always to protect the property and lives of everybody, rather than ever attempting to protect his own significant holdings.
“A simple man who did ordinary things extraordinarily well”, was how stud stock icon and long standing friend Tony Dowe described John in his eulogy.
“It would be hard to find somebody that wasn’t in awe of his capacity to handle any environment.”
But behind all this was his family – his life.
On September 6, 1947, John married Helen Walcott at St Saviours Cathedral, Goulburn, and together they moved to live at “Evermore”, Crookwell, in 1949.
They had three children, Jennifer (1950 decd.), Gillian, born 1951, and Hilton born 1956.
John Kensit carried himself with kindness, decency and he left friendship wherever he went. In the end that is the legacy that John Kensit leaves.
He is survived by his only sister Nancy Wilson, 94, his daughter, Gillian Coombs, and son Hilton, along with five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
John Kensit – a true gentleman.
