Midfield Meats boss Colin McKenna passes away after short illness

Tributes are flowing for respected Victorian meat processing giant, businessman and racing enthusiast Colin McKenna who has died after a short illness.

Southwest Victorian meat processing pioneer Colin McKenna has passed away.

The agriculture industry is mourning the passing of Victorian meat processing giant Colin McKenna who has died after a short illness.

The McKenna family’s The Midfield Group announced the death of the businessman and racing enthusiast in a short statement on Sunday morning.

“It is with heavy hearts the McKenna family wishes to advise our founder and mentor to many passed away this morning with his family by his side after a short illness,” the statement said.

Mr McKenna’s passing has prompted a flood of tributes from leading political and business figures.

In a statement, Wannon MP Dan Tehan said “there is a hole in the heart of southwest Victoria with the passing of Colin”.“Colin was a great Australian,” Mr Tehan said.

“What you saw was what you got. Tough, kind and compassionate, with a love of family and community. He worked hard, created jobs for thousands, had an unbridled passion for racing and put back into his local community like no other.“He will be sorely missed, but the legacy of all he achieved will stand testament to the man he was.”

Mr McKenna worked as a shearer, then stock agent before going into meat processing in 1976, then buying the Warrnambool municipality abattoir in 1988.

Midfield Meats would grow to become one of Australia’s most successful family-owned businesses with the family buying more than 8000 hectares of rich farmland.

Former Victorian Farmers Federation livestock president and Mallee farmer Leonard Vallance remembered Mr McKenna as “one of the pioneers who turned the Victorian abattoir industry around with his professionalism”.

Colin McKenna on his dairy farm. PICTURE: ZOE PHILLIPS

Mr Vallance said Mr McKenna was a “ruthless businessman” who was “hard but fair”.

“To be a survivor in that business you have to a be a pretty strong personality but with that strength he was an honest person,” he said.

“You always knew where you stood with him. He was always open to talk to people if he thought they were constructive, he had no interest in d-ckheads. That was what he was like, no nonsense.”

Mr Vallance said Mr McKenna had been a “major contributor to the national industry, he was not afraid to have a go”.

“Those three guys – Gary Hardwick (Hardwicks Meats), Rob Radfords (Radfords) and McKenna – all were hard businessmen but they did a lot for Victoria and nationally to grow the industry,” he said.

He was remembered as an innovator and advocate for animal welfare, being the first to install live footage, screened into the administrative office of Midfield Meats, from the kill floor.

He also led in installing robotics early on in his Warrnambool abattoir, building a new office using shipping containers, and developing Middle East markets for the Muslim Kill bag lamb trade.

The Union dairy and beef farm – put together by the McKennas – was an outstanding property, a “model farm in its design and layout”, Mr Vallance said.

“He clearly demonstrated (leading) animal welfare and environmentalism, with his dairy farm and composting on the farm, and one of the features of his calf shed was the very high

survival rate achieved for bobby calves,” Mr Vallance said.

“The McKenna family were for the industry good as well.”

Originally published as Midfield Meats boss Colin McKenna passes away after short illness