Frank O’Donnell celebrated his 90th birthday last Sunday at Albert & Co in Lakes Entrance, surrounded by extended family and friends.
Francis Jesse O’Donnell was born on August 10, 1936, to Francis and Emily (Jesse) O’Donnell in Manangatang, with both families well known throughout the Mallee and St Arnaud districts.
Frank was a much-anticipated son, arriving 12 years after the youngest of his four sisters. The family relocated to Cheltenham when Frank was six months old after his mother grew weary of Mallee dust storms regularly sweeping through their home.
Work ethic was ingrained early. Frank ran a paper route after school each day and twice on Saturdays — delivering the Sun News-Pictorial in the morning and The Herald in the afternoon. Earning two pounds and five shillings a week, he gave two pounds home to his mother.
Frank left school at a young age to work in a local market garden for Kelly Bros — a firm still operating today.
In 1958, Frank married Pam, and the couple established a small farm at Devon Meadows. They received a Chevrolet truck as a wedding gift from Frank’s employers as the business upgraded its fleet.
With both still working in Cheltenham, the long commute — leaving and returning in the dark before hand-milking four cows and tending livestock — eventually prompted a move.
Frank took a position at Stock’s market garden in Clyde while expanding his own enterprise, eventually building one of the region’s largest piggeries. Growing potatoes, pumpkins and gherkins supplemented the farm’s income to support Frank and Pam’s
growing family.
By 1975, with seven children born in 12 years — a period Frank cheekily attributes to being “Catholic and careless” — medical advice prompted a sea change to Lakes Entrance, where the family purchased a farm on the town’s outer edge.
Animals have been a lifelong passion. Frank bred his first litter of Blue Heeler pups at age 10 and went on to gain national and international acclaim breeding Australian Cattle Dogs (Blue and Red Heelers), shipping dogs across Australia and to North America.
He also bred and broke in horses and ran pony rides on the site where the Lakes Entrance Visitor Information Centre now stands.
Following the passing of Frank’s mother, his father, Frank Sr, moved to Lakes Entrance, later residing with the family until he passed away at age 97.
When severe drought and stricter pig-feed regulations impacted farming, Frank transitioned into contracting. He operated roadside and vacant land slashing, rural fencing for East Gippsland Shire, and launched East Gippsland Demolition, overseeing the removal of several prominent local structures.
The family grew to eight with the birth of their youngest child in 1982. As Lakes Entrance expanded, Frank planned a four-stage subdivision on part of the farm, creating the Shamrock Park estate.
In retirement, Frank and Pam have enjoyed extensive caravan travel across Australia, as well as trips overseas to America, Hong Kong, New Zealand and a 50th wedding anniversary trip to Ireland with their children in 2008.
Real estate investment has remained a enduring interest, including purchasing the former Combienbar sawmill in 2013, where Frank and Pam still spend time with family — a brood that now includes 23 grandchildren and 28 great-grandchildren.
