CORNELIUS JOSEPH GERARD BROSNAN (known as Connie or Con) was born in Killarney, Queensland, on 8 January, 1925 to Kevin Joseph Brosnan (1889 – 1978) and Hannah Margaret Brosnan – nee Minnage (1892 -1978).  He was the eldest of four children and an older brother to his sisters, Mary, Joan and Margaret.

Con spent his early years at Wynola, the family property on Condamine Road, Killarney.

His formal education started at Killarney Rural School in 1931.  When Con was in Grade Three, the Brosnan – Foster Sawmill at Riverbank, near ‘Wynola’, was thriving, and the growing number of mill workers’ children in the area increased pressure for a closer school. Con’s father, Kevin, donated a portion of land to the government and the disused school building, from Melrose, was transported by his uncle’s bullock wagon to Wynola.  Con attended Wynola School on its opening day, 21st October 1935.  Con spent a few years at Wynola School before completing his education in 1939, at the age of 14, at Mountain View State School, Spring Creek.  When Wynola School closed in 1941, Con’s father had to buy the ground back from the government. 

After school, he played rugby, with an improvised ball made of rags with his friends, in the calf paddock.  On Sunday, after church, Con and his mates took turns racing his cousin’s go cart down the Church hill.  He definitely lost skin in that game!

Con developed a passion for the land, along with his passion for horses.  Indeed, his love of horses started early when he rode to school every day.  His mother’s orders not to race his horse home from school fell on deaf ears, when he was in with a chance to beat his mates.  He thought the idea of racing to the Long Crossing, then slowly walking home, was sure to fool his Mum, until the day she hid at the top of the hill near home to spy on him and his friends, the Wallace’s.  Sure enough, up the road they came, hooves flying and the kids coo-eeing - he was in BIG TROUBLE.

His love of horses continued to play a big part in his life as he helped his cousin Jack prepare ponies for local shows.

Con was a hard worker and started his working life at 15, for his uncle, T. J. Brosnan.  He moved in with TJ’s family and cleaned and picked corn and anything else that needed to be done.  Con, along with Aaron Morris and Mossie Brosnan as offsiders, helped his cousin Jack with his team of eight or ten draught horses carting slats and ends for pine fruit cases.  They walked a distance of about nine kilometres with the horse team, from Riverbank sawmill to the Killarney railhead.  Con’s uncle, T.J. Brosnan, had the contract to deliver mail twice a week from Killarney to The Head as well as maintain the telephone line.  In 1941 Con took over the mail run after his cousin Mossie Brosnan retired.  In those days, the mail run was done on horseback.  The track to The Head was treacherous with potholes big enough to swallow a horse.  But rain, hail or shine, Con delivered the mail by 12 noon.  He had a few challenging customers – none more so than a woman who lived at The Head and fancied hats from a mail order company in Brisbane.  Con was quite a sight, struggling along on horseback with her latest order enclosed in a large hat box.  He rarely got upset, but this customer pushed the boundaries as his departure time of 2pm was always delayed.  More often than not, she returned each hat, via the mailman, a week or so later.  Con used a horse and cart to travel, find and fix any snagged or broken telephone lines from storms or strong winds.

Con retired from the mail run at the end of 1946 and returned home to Wynola to work the dairy farm for his father.  This is when he met Claire, who became his life-long partner and mother to his eight children.  Claire’s family moved from Sydney to Killarney during the war where her father Noel, started work with Jack Teirney’s Stock and Station Agency.  Con married Claire Catherine McDowall on 21st November 1949 at St Joseph’s Catholic Church, Corinda, Brisbane.  After their honeymoon on Lindeman Island, they returned to Killarney and lived in the Wynola house with Con’s parents.  Con and Claire’s first child Stephen was born in 1950 and he was followed by another seven – Catherine, Margaret, Cornelius, John, Madonna, Paul and Bernard, who are now spread from Killarney to Tasmania, through Queensland to Western Australia.

Con’s early life back at Wynola involved dairying, as well as long hours of ploughing and planting crops with draught horses.  During his dairying days, Con kept his kids entertained, while milking, with riddles, rhymes, jokes and whistled tunes.  City cousins were often introduced to fresh, warm milk with superbly executed squirts when they weren’t looking.  However, with the decline in the price of cream, the decision was made to discontinue dairying in 1974 and concentrate on grain and beef, while continuing their already established Hereford Stud, Thirroul.  Con was never afraid to explore and embrace new ideas including cross breeding with different types of cattle which he continued to do.  He applied the same principle to horse breeding while keeping the Wynola bloodline.  Con always put his horses to good use.  If they weren’t carrying Con, Claire or any of their eight children, around the polocrosse field, competing at shows or pony club gymkhanas, he generously loaned many horses to children who Con felt deserved a good horse under them.  He continued to follow these children’s riding careers, always keen to know how they were getting along and proud of their achievements.

Con donated much of his life to the community.  Con continued to ride horses being a founding member of the Killarney Polocrosse club in 1956 and was a very successful number three player in the A grade polocrosse team.  He was also a founding member and an instructor of the Killarney Hack and Pony Club. Con served over thirty years as Vice President and chief ring steward of the Show and Rodeo Society.  He was a man among men, and committee and club members turned to him for diplomatic solutions to tricky situations.  In the words of the late Tim Brosnan, Con was ‘the man who steadied the lead.’  At any meeting, he had the ability to pour oil on troubled waters.  Being a volunteer many hours and days were spent at working bees for each of these associations to make them successful.

His contribution to sport and the Community was recognised in February, 1990, when he was honoured at the Killarney Australia Day Council ceremony for outstanding achievement in sport, where he was awarded the Australia Day Sports Administrator Award.

Later farming life for Con was like the eternal circle – endless hours on the trusty Massey Ferguson ploughing and then planting; then infinite hours with tordon axe in hand controlling tree suckers and throwing countless matches to keep the blackberries and lantana at bay; hours in the saddle or old Toyota with a trusted dog by his side, shifting cattle into and out of paddocks for maximum feed efficiency to fatten them; until returning full circle to ploughing and planting again.  Con’s life was the eternal circle but one that he loved in caring for the land that was a part of his soul.

Even though Con has passed on, the values that he held so strongly live on with his eight children, to the point that just two months before he died, he was still climbing onto the tractor to finish ploughing paddocks at Wynola.  His children remember him best for always looking for the good in people.  He never prejudged anyone – it was up to them whether they raised or lowered the bar.

Con passed away on 21 July 2011 at the Warwick Hospital and is resting in Killarney Cemetery with his wife Claire who passed away on 25 April 2020.

Other family members resting in the Killarney Cemetery:

·      Parents – Kevin and Hannah Brosnan

·      Paternal Grandparents – Cornelius and Mary Ann Brosnan

·      Maternal Grandparents – John William and Jessie Cowan Minnage

·      Con’s sister – Mary Cowan Brosnan

·      Many of Con’s aunts, uncles and cousins are also at rest in the same area of the cemetery

Con’s other sisters’ resting places:

·      Joan Rooney – Nudgee, Brisbane

·      Margaret McCafferty – Rookwood Catholic Cemetery, Sydney