“Walwa” was also the home of a high-quality commercial beef cattle herd, further testament to Alan’s livestock breeding ability. After purchasing “Walwa”, which was a bigger property, Alan started increasing sheep numbers, doubling his flock size. He started buying fine wool Merinos from the Central Tablelands region and was on the verge of developing a show team when Ovine Johne’s Disease (OJD) struck. The disease was a ticking time bomb waiting for a trigger to explode and, following a dry spell in the early 1990s, it struck, affecting Walwa severely. Alan was at the forefront of the affected producers’ attempts to get the New South Wales Government to better understand how the disease was affecting sheep breeders and to develop a better management policy. Walwa showed with some success at the Great Southern Supreme Merino Show and with fleece entries at the Australian Sheep and Wool Show at Bendigo, but this failed to translate to his ram sales, which failed to reach the same level of interest as before the OJD outbreak. In his 40s, Alan was diagnosed with a non-life-threatening spinal complaint which was beginning to seriously affect him. Following surgery, he was advised that he would be in a wheelchair within a decade. Aside from Merino sheep, wool and cattle, Alan enjoyed being involved in local activities. He was captain of the local bush fire brigade before relocating from the Australian Capital Territory and served as President of the Crookwell Show, following in the footsteps of his grandfather. He was an outstanding sportsman, representing Queanbeyan at first grade level for both rugby union and cricket in the strong Australian Capital Territory competition. Alan was a much-loved father and father-in-law of Amanda and Troy Vardanega, Sally-Anne and Michael Barbara, Elizabeth and Andrew Cramp, and Alan and Claire McCormack; and grandfather to Stella, Mack, Charlotte, Dayna, Macey, Liberty, Maggie, Charlie, Grace and Joe. Inspired by the words of Winston McDonald – 57 –
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