Former Midfield managing director Colin McKenna doing what he loved best.
A GUARD of honour will next week farewell Midfield Group founder and managing director Colin McKenna after he died on Sunday morning following a short illness.
The meat processing giant’s home base of Warrnambool received confirmation of Mr McKenna’s passing yesterday morning with a Facebook post by his family.
“It is with heavy hearts the McKenna Family wishes to advise our founder, fearless leader and mentor to many passed away this morning with his family by his side after a short illness ,” the post said.
Tributes on social media came from a myriad of personal and business acquaintances for Mr McKenna.
Mr McKenna’s wife Janice told The Standard newspaper at Warrnambool: “We just want to say thank you to everyone for their support in what has been an extremely tough time for our family.”
“We’ve been very lucky to have received amazing love and support from our friends.
“The caring doctors, nurses and staff at the Cabrini Hospital have been amazing and all the people who have offered messages of support,” she told Standard correspondent and close friend Tim Auld.
“We just can’t thank everyone enough.
“Colin loved life. He was a hardworking person, who loved his family.”
During his time in agriculture, Mr McKenna worked as a shearer and then a stock agent, before founding one of the most efficient beef and sheep meat processing plants in Australia, with significant pastoral holdings and a dairy processing division. The pastoral division includes several leading Western District properties, including The Union Station at Woolsthorpe and Cooramook at Grassmere.
Along the way Mr McKenna became a well-known and respected figure in the livestock, farming and racing industry locally and nationally, and as a philanthropist who donated millions of dollars to cancer research, hospitals, local sporting clubs and schools. In 2021, Mr McKenna was awarded a Member for the Order of Australia (AM) for significant work to community through various organisations.
Midfield’s Colin McKenna and Noel Kelson, with Mr Kelson’s 2023 AMIC Distinguished Service award.
Former Midfield quality assurance manager Noel Kelson said Colin McKenna leaves an incredible legacy with his activities in Victoria, South Australia and beyond.
“The company is strong and it is there to continue and will under Dean’s (son) guidance I’m sure.”
Mr Kelson worked full-time for the group from December 1995 until June 2017 after leaving his government meat inspector position.
“It was an extraordinary period of time with lots of changes.”
Midfield was one of the first plants in Australia to develop robotic lamb carcase cutting, the Middle East bag lamb trade and hot beef boning.
“Probably the biggest achievement for Colin was the development of hot boning of beef in the (Warrnambool) plant, it was designed for that, and it continues to this day.
“It was a significant shift in the way in which boning was handled in Victoria at that time,” he said.
“It was an extremely efficient beef boning and handling system, and a significant outcome for the plant.”
The Midfield Group is proudly 100 percent Australian owned and operated, employing more than 1500 people largely from the region. The group now includes several divisions including international meat sales, trading, the United Dairy Company and the innovative Meat Barns retail business.
Midfield general manager Dean McKenna advised media that the Midfield office and meat processing plant will be closed on Friday 8th November.
He advised that on 7 November Mr McKenna’s coffin will drive through the plant coming in gate 3 and out gate 4 “which will allow those who wish too here at work to pay their respects in the form of a guard of honour and give Colin one last chance to thank the people that make Midfield what it is today as we are a people’s business that processes Meat, Milk and Farms.”
On Friday 8 November at 12pm Mr McKenna’s funeral will be held on the lawn at Union Station Farm followed by a private burial. The wake will be at Union Station Hotel. All are welcome to join and celebrate Colin’s life, Dean McKenna advised.
Colin McKenna was a tough but fair person to do business with.
My company Kalari were invited by Colin to be the Midfield Meat refrigerated carrier way back in the mid-80s.
We were proud to be given that opportunity and invested heavily in new Kenworth trucks & FTE refrigerated trailers.
Circa 12 months into the relationship we were struggling to make a profit and I called Colin. He said come to Warrnambool and we will have a beer and a chat.
After a hour or “more” we shook hands and Midfield had a new business unit in transporting meat — and my goodness – give the man an opportunity and watch him make it work and it quickly became profitable and the rest is now history. ‘Tough but fair’ is a Colin McKenna quality the world of today needs to adopt.
If possible, that is, if the editor has the contact details of either Dean or Brett McKenna, could you please pass on my deepest sympathy and condolences with their father’s passing. Thank You.