Jack Condell

Jack Condell Born 1927 'Maadi', Downside I've Jack Condell to thank for kicking off my Breed of Their Own project. It was after a visit with Jack, riding home on horseback with a mate, that it dawned on me that capturing the lives and stories of our elder Australians was what I was destined to do; a light read, the images left to tell the story. Jack was a neighbour and a friend. We'd often yarn out the front of my place whilst he was on his rounds delivering the community forum to the district mailboxes (a service which I'm sure provided him great joy), and I'd visit with him often at his home to share a beer. On the day I organised to photograph Jack, I called to stress to him that his home should be left just as it is; I wanted what I captured to be authentic. "If you're published people will see how I live and probably lock me up!" he laughed. You see, you could write your name on the walls of Jack's home, so yellow they were with nicotine stains from the cigarettes he smoked, hundreds around me, not that I minded in the least, this was his place, his space. Jack was married fifty years to Cath, had five children; Patrick, Jenny, Des, Stephen and Leanne, and lived 79 years in the same house at 'Maadi'. Jack began his farming career droving livestock between the property and the sale yards in Wagga Wagga, and using horse-drawn machinery, before establishing a Border Leicester Stud. Farm life was often tough but Jack's love for animals (notably dogs and chooks), and 'Maadi', the property which was once his father's, ensured his time spent was never a chore. Jack once told me that he found people the most interesting, despite his many and varied experiences and passions, and I can personally attest to the fact he made friends easily. Jack lived his last years at Loreto Home of Compassion. I miss Jack but I feel honoured to have had the time I did. Please note some of the above information was gathered from a third party article.