John is the 3rd generation of the McConnel family to own Mt Brisbane.  He has served on the Droughtmaster board as a Director and is a classifier for the breed.  He was instrumental in getting many feedlot and carcass competitions started in SE Qld as he has always believed this is the best way to receive feedback on your cattle & compare them.  John is a Life Member of the Esk Show in recognition of his contribution to the show and is also on the Esk Jockey Club Board.

Carli was originally a Murray, one of the pioneering families in western Qld. She was raised on Beaconsfield in the Ilfracombe area of Western Qld. After finishing school at NEGS in Armidale she worked on several  properties around Longreach before her marriage to John in 1972. Carli spent over 13 years working with the Droughtmaster Society as founder and editor of the Newsletter as well as holding various positions within the Board of the Society. Never one to sit still, she is now enjoying working with several weed committees, AgForce, the two local shows and  SEQ Beef Research Committee as well as helping edit Beef Talk, a DPI publication.

Our daughter Susie Sullivan continues to be actively involved in the running of the stud herd, despite living outside Dalby where she works for Suncorp Bank as an Agribusiness Manager.  Both she and her husband Luke, who is an Agronomist, continue to be regular helpers on Mt Brisbane and aim to break in a small team of stud weaners each year that are available for sale.  They run their own stud herd within the Mt Brisbane stud and Susie has assumed responsibility for the marketing and promotion of the stud.  She has judged at numerous regional shows, has judged at the Royal Queensland Show, twice at the Toowoomba Royal Show and was invited by the Droughtmaster Stud Breeders Society to judge the Gatton Futurity in 2009.  She has spoken at a number of education days on topics ranging from “Cattle Selection” to “Obtaining Finance”. 

Don is now the ‘mainstay’ of Mt Brisbane having returned home in 1998 after school.  Don manages the day to day work of the property and is a regular exhibitor of prime cattle at the local shows.  He is a classifier with the Droughtmaster Breed and is also on the senior judging panel.  He has judged many regional shows in SE Qld.  Don is now Chief Steward of the Prime Cattle section at the Esk Show where he has been a steward since 1995.  He is also involved in the Esk Jockey Club Committee as assistant starter and barrier assistant.

Ian is a Grazing Extension Officer with the DPI & F in SE Qld. He is a keen rugby player having played for the Western Qld team. In 2006 he travelled around the world with his wife Sheena. While away he worked for a livestock ear tag company in Scotland and played rugby for the local club ‘Selkirk’. Ian has studied animal production in the United States while youth ambassador for the Murray Grey breed. Ian can also be seen judging local shows around South East Queensland. In January 2009 Ian & Sheena welcomed their first child, a daughter Ailee.

Bruce is our youngest son, and is pictured with his wife Alison and son Lachlan, born 23rd August 2009. Bruce completed a Bachelor of Agribusiness at UQ Gatton before joining NAB in 2002. He worked in a number of locations around QLD and NSW in various Agribusiness Banking roles. He is now based in Gatton as an Agribusiness Manager, after 2 years in Melbourne as an Agribusiness Strategy Advisor. He was one of the Youngest Judges appointed to judge at the Royal Queensland Show and has also judged a number of rural shows throughout Southern QLD and Northern NSW.  Bruce is a keen Rugby player, having played for Melbourne Rugby Club, and Western Bulldogs in Brisbane. In 2009 Bruce was named the National Rural Ambassador, he will travel to Edinburgh in June 2010 to attend the 24th Commonwealth Agricultural Conference, hoping to gain ideas from across the Commonwealth to ensure Australian Shows remain as Premier Events.