ROBERTS, Malcolm Melville

Malcolm Roberts, Alice Springs identity, and Northern Territory pastoral industry icon, of the 1970’s and 80’s, passed away in Rockhampton on 9th September 2023

Malcolm Melville Roberts was born on 26 April 1934 to Melville Roberts and Margary Roberts neé Marshman at Redbanks, SA. His father died when Malcolm was five, and his mother took him and sister Rosemary to live in Mallala.

Malcolm served in the RAAF as ground crew on Lincoln bombers during his National Service, then became a stock agent with Elders, in South Australia, covering an area which included Crystal Brook, Snowtown, Kangaroo Island, Broken Hill, Wilmington, and Orroroo.

Malcolm married Janice Arthur from Broken Hill in 1957, and they had two children, Andrea in 1959 and Grant in 1960. Malcolm took the family to the Northern Territory in 1969, and together with Grant Heaslip, purchased Singleton cattle station on the eastern edge of the Tanami Desert. In the mid 1970’s he acquired the Wauchope outback pub, located on the Stuart Highway and within Singleton.

Malcolm established an aerial mustering operation using small fixed wing aircraft, across the Barkly , Central Australia, and the Victoria River District

At the end of the 1970’s Malcolm sold out of Singleton and the Wauchope pub, and moved to Alice Springs, buying into Builders real estate business. Malcolm became a contact hub for stations, particularly on cattle industry matters, and in time his office became the Central Australian Pastoralists Association and he its honorary Secretary.

The NTCA, Northern Territory Cattlemen’s Association, was the leading industry voice for pastoralists in the 1980’s, led by Cliff Emmerson as Executive Director and Malcolm as Deputy Director. In 1988 the NTCA led the refurbishment of the Bohning trucking yards in Alice Springs, into an industry leading state of the art cattle handling and selling facility. Opened in 1989, the project, managed by Malcolm, represented an ambitious and dynamic business move by the NTCA, and became an example for saleyards across the country.

Malcolm retired from his Alice Springs businesses in 1990, and moved to Emu Park in Queensland, where he built an airstrip to continue his beloved pastime, flying. He married Marianne in 1991, settling in to an easier life, spending more time with children and grandchildren.

He was the last of his Alice Springs colleagues to go, and leaves behind wife Marianne, 2 children, 5 grandchildren, and 3 great grandchildren.