The Probus Club of Bairnsdale held its August meeting at the Bairnsdale Bowls Club, drawing a strong turnout as the active social group celebrated expanding its membership beyond 50 people.
Longtime local Leo Hamilton presented the meeting’s member profile, reflecting on his life and agricultural career across Victoria. Born in Melbourne in the 1940s, Mr Hamilton attended Xavier College before graduating with a degree in Agricultural Science from the University of Melbourne.
After working as an agronomist in the Western District for two years, he relocated to East Gippsland, purchasing a farming property at Sarsfield. The property is now managed by his eldest son, while Mr Hamilton resides in Bairnsdale with his wife, Christine.
Throughout his professional career, Mr Hamilton worked as an agronomist with the Department of Agriculture and later as a private consultant, collaborating with the CSIRO and the Meat & Livestock Corporation.
A former Lions Club president and inventor of a weed-wiping implement, he assisted regional farmers in improving soil fertility through strategic fertiliser applications, introducing new pasture species and managing trace mineral levels such as boron
and manganese.
Mr Hamilton expressed concern during his address that current pasture fertility levels have declined due to reduced fertiliser and trace element applications, leading to poorer grass quality and reduced clover and ryegrass growth across regional grazing country.
In 2015, Mr Hamilton published a research paper detailing soil nutrient deficiencies. The work prompted contact from the Sydney University Medical Department regarding his findings on boron deficiencies in dairy milk and potential links to childhood
health conditions.
Summing up his agricultural insights with a lighter note on nutrition, Mr Hamilton recommended a daily apple and a cup of tea to secure essential dietary boron
and manganese.
Following the member profile, retired eel farmer Ron Elton addressed the club as guest speaker. Raised in the Stradbroke area, Mr Elton recalled catching eels in Merriman’s Creek as a child before purchasing a commercial eel license in 1974.
Between 1975 and 1982, Mr Elton established an eel farming operation at Perry Bridge, constructing numerous containment ponds to cultivate stock, eventually landing a record eel weighing 18 kilograms. He later established East Coast Eels in Stratford and noted that operators were harvesting up to five tonnes of eels annually from McLeod’s Morass near Bairnsdale.
Operating from Stratford, his business exported live eels to Asian markets, including China. Chilled in ice water and oxygenated for transport, the live eels could survive up to 32 hours during air freight, with Chinese buyers requiring the eels to be actively swimming upon arrival. The processing facility also produced smoked eels for major domestic markets in Sydney.
Club members gained an appreciation for the complex life cycle of eels and the intense manual labor required to harvest elvers and manage commercial ponds before thanking both speakers for their presentations.
