John R Cordingley lived through amazing times. He grew up in the Great Depression and lived through a World War. He went from watching his father clearing land with a draft horse, axe and wallaby jack to buying a wheel tractor; watching a man land on the moon; and helping his son purchase a D8 dozer to clear his property.
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Born in Armidale John spent most of his life at the family property Lorelmo. He was the youngest child of Thomas and Hilda Cordingley and grew up during the depression with his two sisters.
At the age of six, John was given a 22 rifle, and he took every opportunity to go out with his dog shooting rabbits.
He attended TAS and Barker College and enjoyed his school years but saw little of his family.
When the war broke out, John was just 16 years old, and he could not believe his father would not sign the papers for him to join the Navy. Instead, John took a job at Dalgety’s in Sydney. While money was tight, he did get to see a lot of his sister Marnie, and they enjoyed the Sydney night life together.
When John turned 18, he enlisted and was sent to Pukka Punel where he trained. At camp, it was quickly recognised that John was a crack shot and knew how to handle a firearm, so he was held back as an instructor when his group was sent to Singapore where all were captured by the Japanese and sent to Changi. He knew of none who returned.
After John’s return from service his father’s health deteriorated and he went to help on Lorelmo. He had little farming experience and relied on help from his neighbours Jimmy and Allan McGuire, who were quite generous with their time.
Six months after his return John’s father died and his sister Marnie, and her young son went to live with them.
John’s interest in wool evolved and the Lorelmo Stud was one of the first New England studs to grow superfine poll sheep in the early 1960’s.
While visiting a good friend in Sydney he met his wife, Patricia. They were married in November 1956 and had three children: Thomas, John and Sally.
In 1968 John’s mother Hilda, his sister Marnie and her husband Reg, tragically died within three months of each other. John and Patricia took in their three children and now cared for six ranging from 7 to13 years old.
By 1979 John had grown Lorelmo from 640 acres to 1400 acres, so he subdivided the property and purchased ‘Topdale’. He watched with pride and participated in the early development of Topdale, and his whole family acknowledges his contribution and generosity.
John R Cordingley is survived by his wife Patricia and children Thomas, John and Sally.
