Helen and Gordon. Gordon and Craig and Gordon’s mate Clyde Miller with a herd of Herefords. Gordon with his brother Bob with their dogs and a big mob of sheep.
“It costs you nothing to be nice.” Those were the words from Gordon Lindley when being interviewed as part of Local Legends. Gordon is an octogenarian and will turn 81 in 2024, not that you would know it. Gordon has that spark in his eye that few do. A cheeky grin which immediately lets people who meet him know that he is going to be a rare find, a gem of a man who tells it like it is and does so in a wise and informative way. Gordon’s demeanour quickly puts you at ease. He handles talking to people from all walks of life, is a natural born leader and although at times he may have been pushed out of his comfort zone with his various appointments in public life, he was the best man for the job and has quickly risen to the challenge and excelled, never looked back and got on with it.
When asked if he would take part in the Gundagai Times Local Legend series of stories, Gordon was happy to assist, however, he made it clear that he didn’t feel that he was a Local Legend, even though many would agree that he is. You see, Gordon Lindley is both a patriot and respectful of the sacrifices of those who went before us, especially in a world where conflicts dominated the last century and many men and women lost their lives so that we can live in a country such as Australia today. He has been on many horses who have bucked in his time and he bucked a little at the title of his story. Always the humble man, he wanted to acknowledge our diggers as Australian Legends.
Born on 20th of March 1943, Gordon is a lifelong resident of Gundagai. His family is forever tied to its history and its history to them. Gordon’s family history is one of legend and tragedy. His family line occurred after his ancestor Thomas Lindley’s wife and their children were tragically killed in the flood of 1852. It was only years after, when Gordon’s ancestor remarried, that his family line came into existence. If those who were killed over those fateful few days had survived, there would have been no reason for Thomas Lindley to remarry and Gordon may not be here. Such is fate. Gordon said, “Mum was born at Darbalara, she was a Pierce, they had dairies out there. Dad was a descendant of Thomas Lindley, my great great grandfather who owned the inn and the punt on the southern side. I give credit to those sort of people who were sent out here and made a life for themselves. They came out here and made the country what it is today. They had to get on with life.” Gordon said, “Thomas lost his first wife and his four children in 1852, remarried and got going again. He was in Yass at the time of the flood and got word that a big flood was coming through, but he didn’t know until he got to Gundagai that he had lost his whole family. Apparently he got on well with all of the local Aboriginals, he learnt a bit of the language.” When Thomas remarried, he had two children with his second wife.
His son got going and was one of the first farmers from the area to go into the mountains. This meant droving stock up into the high country to graze before bringing them back down in a seasonal fashion. “They were snow leases, that’s where it all started. We ended up with a hell of a lot of leases in those days and it was Hereford cattle who went up a lot.” It wasn’t just cattle that the Lindley family farmed. Gordon came into the role when he got older. Once they left Gundagai with a group of family drovers with a mob of 4000 sheep. He said, “We would go up through Tumut and where the dam is now. To get through Tumut we would go where the swimming pool is now or right up around where the golf course is, past the primary schools.” The leases came to an end in 1968 with the last droving venture the following year. Gordon’s family had spent around 50 years and several generations making a living for the family in the hills. The work could be tiring, hard and solitary at times. Gordon spent many years living at the famous ‘Long Plain’, now a Mecca for tourists when it is open and home to some beautiful landscapes. “I loved it, it was a great time of my life. It was a horse and a pack horse. The greatest number of cattle taken through there by us was 1000 head of Herefords. We took mainly cows and calves to a point and heifers to another spot. We used to spend the summer up there.”
It wasn’t all hard work though and when the cattle or sheep had settled into their surroundings, Gordon was able to indulge in some trout fishing or some pig hunting. He said, “We rode nearly every day.” Gordon spent some time on the rodeo circuits when he was younger and ran into a much younger Bob Holder from Coota who is now regarded as the world’s oldest cowboy, in that he still competes in rodeos and is in his 90s. Gordon took part in a lot of local rodeos, including Coota, Gundagai and Tumut.
Schooling was going to be interesting in that the family didn’t live very close. “I rode to school when I was six years old, it was nine miles there and back. I remember the first day of school. I didn’t want to go and either did the pony, so the old man got behind it with the whip. Later on when there was four or five of us going we took a horse and cart out to Edwardstown.” Gordon went to high school for three years at Newington College. He said, “I couldn’t stand it, I couldn’t get back to Gundagai quick enough, I missed the horses and the dogs.” With a lot of time spent in the high county Gordon didn’t make all of the usual dances and social events which were put on at the time for those in their 20s.
Gordon met Helen Sommerville in the 1960s and was married in 1971. They had two boys and two girls. Gordon made mention of Helen saying, “I didn’t get married until I was 28.” Gordon joked that his mother pushed him out of the nest and that he was happy where he was. He puts his life and his wanting to achieve down to having good parents. Regarding Helen he said, “She never once said, ‘don’t do it.’ I’ve been very lucky, she let me do the things I was interested in. She came to Dubai one year for a conference for World Racing. She enjoyed it. We raised the children between us but she did most of the work. We have four great kids and eight lovely grandkids.”
The two boys, Craig and Zac are running the farm, while the two girls are also highly successful with Renee running local store, Wren’s Store and Styling, while Carmen lives in Melbourne and is a Photographer. Gordon was battle hardened from a young age. The droving was often done in shifts of four weeks on and four weeks off. “Four of us worked it, we all had young families, but what could we do? They were our livelihood, you had to keep the animals alive. I enjoyed it, you had a goal and you finished it.”
Gordon first became involved in the civic side of the Gundagai area when a neighbour’s daughter drowned in the Murrumbidgee. “A few of us got together when I was a young bloke, we were all 17, 18, 20, 21. Scoop Sullivan was one of the leaders. We got in and raised a lot of money and it was needed, the Murrumbidgee was not that safe. We got a grant and it ended up being a 50 metre pool. They called a meeting, we got going. It was done through the Council. Stan Crowe was the Shire President and we raised money with gambling nights in shearing sheds. You could do things like that in those days.” Gordon’s list of achievements and his community involvement is vast. He has been involved in Rugby League and in particular the Gundagai Tigers. “I was president here for a few years before Group 9 and Referees Appointments Board. I played a bit, but loved the administration side of things.” Tumut’s Dossie Carr was very well known in the game for administration. Dossie passed away recently and it was a sad loss for Gordon. He described Dossie as a “champion bloke”. Gordon spent time on the Rural Land’s Board, before 12 years on Gundagai Council, five as Mayor. He became involved in the racing industry and owned a number of very good horses. Gordon and others from the bush became frustrated that every now and again they would be called on by the AJC to head to Sydney and talk about what was happening with racing in the bush, however, when all they did was “eat prawns, drink wine and achieve little”. Gordon and others knew it was time to act and get results on the board. “The TAB meetings were coming in and we formed a Country Racing Council,” he said. “I got a phone call and was asked if I would sit on the board. I was there for 12 to 14 years and became Chairman. I then spent a couple of years on the NSW Racing Board with V’landys. I got on well with him, he has done a great job with racing and league. Country league needs more work. Unless they throw some more money at the country, it will become a worry. Most towns have to import a few players to get where they want to be.
“One particular time I went to a meeting with V’landys and the corporate bookies were making a lot of noise about being put out of business. They were told to change their plans and prepare to pay a fee. Which they did. V’landys was never one to give in. It was interesting times.”
Gordon explains his love for Gundagai. “It’s such a lovely place, good people, strong people, let’s get going sort of attitude,” he said. He tells of a time when the townsfolk chipped in after he and Abb McAlister asked for some help after a terrible storm went through and covered the local race track among other amenities in debris. There were bales of hay all over the place. “We didn’t know how we were going to get it cleaned up. We just needed a little bit of help but about 300 people turned up. The track, the showgrounds and the rodeo grounds were a mess. In a full day we got rid of most of it. They brought their tractors and got it done,” he said. Gordon was Mayor when the community were called upon to do a similar job with the golf course. Again, Gundagai residents turned up in droves and again got the job done. Gundagai residents just get it done. “They never let you down, that’s what I like about the people,” he said. “The main street was done up, they formed a committee and got on with it.”
Gordon noted that Christmas and New Years you can’t move in Gundagai. “People like to get off the main road. There was some opposition to the park and the play equipment, but families and tourists pull up and get a coffee and kids play on the equipment. It’s a great drawcard,” he said. When asked who is Gordon Lindley?, he said, “I was lucky to grow up in a good family, meet a lovely lady and I enjoyed everything I did for the town. I’ve always liked a challenge.
We did a lot of horse breaking including blood horses. I trained a horse for the old man and it won in Gundagai. Living life, it costs you nothing to be nice. Speak to people and they will speak to you. Say g’day and be nice, it doesn’t cost a shilling. A bloke was in the pub recently and we called him over for a yarn. He was a QANTAS pilot and we had a great talk.” Gordon said, “If you make a mistake, first thing you do is fix it. I told a bloke the other day, it’s better to learn from other’s mistakes of the past, that way you don’t make the same mistake.
Life is a learning thing and anyone who says they don’t make mistakes has never lived. “I enjoyed living in the bush as a young bloke and I was lucky, met a lot of good people in Tumut and Harden. Life is life, make as much of it as you can, you only get one chance, enjoy it.” Gordon’s home has a particular room which plays host to a number of framed awards.
They include his 12 years of service on Council, eight years on the Gundagai Rural Lands Protection Board. He was Citizen of the Year in 2010 for Gundagai and received a Premier’s Award for Active Citizenship. He has also received a NSW Country Racing Special Achievement Award. Gordon was also instrumental in establishing The Riverina Eastern Regional Organisation of Councils, (REROC) which gave Gundagai and the region a bigger seat at the table when dealing with the State Government. This group still performs strongly to this day after nearly 30 years. Gordon has been recognised in a Shires Association of NSW award for his time as a local Councillor 1987-1999, Deputy Mayor 1991 to 1992, Mayor 1993 to 1998, Delegate to REROC 1993 to 1996 and Deputy Chairman of REROC 1996 to 1998. Further to these achievements Gordon was President of the P&C at the local primary school in the 1970s and in the 1980s he and Helen ran riding for the disabled on the family farm every Saturday morning.
One of his favourite achievements was being in the ownership of a thoroughbred by the name of Brimstone. There’s not too many country horses who can win a big race in the bush let alone take on the city horses and put them to the sword. One particular framed photo of Brimstone is a fine win at Royal Randwick on October 23, 1996. Brimstone got home a half neck in front of Pentas, the next horse, carrying 54 kilograms. The 6-year-old gelding was at the top of his game when he won the George Moore Welter Handicap over 1400 metres with Bobby El’Issa aboard. Trained by David Blundell he was part owned by A J Summons, D Emanuel, D P Blundell, Gordon, I T Deighton, P L Jones and B R Jones. Brimstone adorns the available space in a number of beautiful photographs.
Gordon reflected on his early years, time droving in the high country and how his family expanded their farming operation. After the leases finished, the Lindley’s continued buying up country and ended up with over 8000 acres which went on to be divided up for the next generation to keep the farming life in the family. It’s a sizeable amount of land but one that he firmly states was worked hard for. Gordon said, “You didn’t have all the fancy stuff you wanted but you made sure that you paid it off.” Gordon still helps out on the farm at shearing time or lamb marking time.
When referring to the next generation, he said, “You let them do what they want to do, but you give some advice. If you don’t make mistakes though you never learn.” Gordon Lindley and the Lindley family are synonymous with Gundagai and its settler’s history. That contribution continues to this day as the descendants of the Lindley’s continue to make valuable contributions to Gundagai and surrounds.
The past has been written and the ink is wet and ready to apply to the paper for what will be the next chapters. You can be sure the contribution will be large, by people who love Gundagai to the core. In fact, they are Gundagai. Part of its very fabric and being. Thank you Gordon for everything you have done for Gundagai and surrounds. You truly are a Local Legend.
