By Paul Pratt
Born in Goomeri on 23 December 1936, Earl David Sealy Pratt was the eldest of five children born to Basil and Desma Pratt. Earl started his schooling in Goomeri.
When Earl was the age of six, his father enlisted into the Army and was posted to New Guinea, returning at the end of the war.
During his father’s absence he was a huge help to his mother and his two siblings Robert and Kay.
In 1946 the family moved to Murgon where his sisters Joy and Jan were born, Earl finished his schooling in 1953.
In July 1955, after working with his father in the livestock business for a short period of time, he was called up for National Service.
He completed his training at HMAS Penguin, Middleheads in Sydney.
On his return to Murgon he worked alongside his father and eventually formed BD Pratt & Co in 1962.
Earl meet Rita Smith in 1957 and in May 1960 entered into a partnership that would last some 57 years till her passing in 2017.
Earl’s proudest moments were the birth of his son Paul in 1965 and his daughter Helen in 1970.
The agency conducted regular Livestock Sales in Murgon and Goomeri and saw the opening of the current Live Weight selling complex in Murgon.
BD Pratt & Co was sold to Australian Estates in 1979.
Earl continued on in the industry as a commission buyer for several processors as well as many private clients.
Over the years this job saw Earl travel many thousands of kilometres to various sales in the Burnett and Central Queensland.
In 1986 Earl, Rita and Paul established Pratt Agencies Pty Ltd.
His involvement in Pratt Agencies ended in 2015 leaving Paul and his wife Stacey to run the business.
Rest assured his advice on business issues never stopped.
He was passionate about the livestock industry and was instrumental in the late 1990s and the early 2000s in bringing state based livestock organisations into a national body now known as the Australian Livestock and Property Agents Associations (ALPA) in 2004.
Earl was made a life member of ALPA in the same year for his tireless contribution and commitment towards the formation of the company.
Aside from the agency industry, Earl was very community minded and heavily involved in several Murgon organisations and committees.
Elected as a Murgon Shire Councillor in 1985, he served until 1997.
He was also involved with the Murgon Football Club, St Joseph’s Catholic Parish and was on the committee of the Murgon Dairy Museum until he fell ill in 2019.
Earl is survived by his son Paul and his wife Stacey, his daughter Helen and her husband Shaun, grandchildren Mitchell, Candice, Ashleigh, Tyler, Georgia, Justin, Jessica, Madison and great grandson Oliver.
A True Gentleman.
