Alan Acton to be farewelled at funeral service in Rockhampton

Well-known cattleman Alan Acton will be farewelled at a funeral service this week after his tragic passing.

Alan Acton will be farewelled at a funeral service at St Joseph’s Cathedral on Friday. Photo: Supplied Copyright Unknown

Family and friends of well-respected cattleman Alan Acton will gather on Friday to farewell him at a funeral service.

The funeral service will be held at 11am at St Joseph’s Cathedral in Rockhampton, with a private committal at his “beloved” property, Wilpeena, at a later date.

Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend the funeral service.

Mr Acton tragically died “doing what he loved” after the helicopter he was flying crashed while mustering on the property, near Dingo, last Tuesday.

Emergency crews were called to the crash about 11.30am, but it’s understood the 65 year old died instantly.

Jennifer and Alan Acton at the Magic Millions cocktail party 2019. Photo: Supplied Copyright Unknown

According to an investigation notification published by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) the helicopter struck a wire before colliding with terrain.

The Acton family has been running cattle for 150 years and is considered one of Queensland’s most successful farming families.

The crash isn’t the first tragedy to strike the family.

Mr Acton’s brother, Graeme, died in 2014 after he was badly injured in a campdrafting accident.

His nephew Joseph died in a car crash near Normanton in 2011.

His nephew Brent was also killed in a helicopter crash while mustering in 2017.

As well as being well known for cattle and agriculture, Mr Acton was known for his passion for horse racing, with his family having raced horses for three generations and enjoyed great success.

Graeme Acton (left) with brother Alan at the inaugural Middlemount race meeting in November 1987. The brothers and their dad Tom were the founding fathers of the race club.

Mr Acton served as vice chairman of the Central Queensland Amateaur Race Club.

He and his wife Jennifer are slot-holders in The Archer race day and had been hoping to have a horse from the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott stable run in their name.

Mr Acton’s death sent shockwaves across the agricultural and racing industries with flowing tributes remembering him as a “stalwart” and one of racing’s “genuinely nice humans”.

Originally published as Alan Acton to be farewelled at funeral service in Rockhampton