Gunnedah’s 2025 Australia Day ambassador Patrick Warmoll thought organisers had called the wrong bloke when asked to lead this year’s awards ceremony.
“I actually didn’t believe them when they called me,” Patrick said. “I asked them on two occasions ‘are you sure you want me to be the ambassador?’ But I’m very proud … it’s an honour.”
The Warmoll family own and run Jack’s Creek – a highly successful Wagyu beef production on the Liverpool Plains.
The meat quality is that good it’s a four-time winner of the ‘World Steak Challenge’, including the last two consecutive years.
Patrick recalled how his father Phillip first encountered the Wagyu beef while perusing a Time magazine in a Gunnedah dentist surgery.
He stumbled across an article about the sought-after Wagyu and “that started it all”, Patrick said.
The now famous Jack’s Creek beef has put Gunnedah and North West NSW on the map – even if the Australia Day ambassador still needs to reference Miranda Kerr to describe where he’s from.
Patrick grew up in Breeza and studied at Gunnedah’s St Xavier’s Primary School – incidentally, in same year as Kerr.
He played tennis, cricket and rugby and often participated in the Gunnedah Australia Day raft race.
“That was my favourite,” he said.
With four global awards already behind to the family-run, beef operation – and a fifth in its sights – he said the business achievements have been incremental.
“It’s rarely a big leap forward, often it’s tiny steps …. sometimes backwards,” he said.
The Australia Day ambassador likened business progress to participation in the Gunnedah raft race.
In the first year, the aim is just to finish. In the second, it’s to go quicker and by the third and subsequent events, the goal is to go as quickly as possible while still learning along the way.
Mr Warmoll said the Australia Day ambassador role was a great reminder about the fortuitous position many citizens of the nation find themselves in.
“[Our business] is represented by 17 different nationalities, so we see first-hand the long journey to emigrate to Australia,” he said.
“It means a lot to us to see people from other countries come to Australia, establish themselves and are able to contribute to the community.
“For me personally, Australia is for all Australians, old and new. It’s a time for to reflect how blessed we are to live in Australia and it’s something we shouldn’t take for granted.”
Beef production strong
Gunnedah is on the verge of finishing its long-awaited saleyards redevelopment project – which at last count, was valued at $27 million.
The selling centre has been plagued by delays and cost blow-outs but Mr Wormoll said end result will prove important for the long-term sustainability of beef production in the region.
“We predominantly buy direct from the suppliers from the paddock but we also participate in the yards from time to time,” Mr Warmoll said.
“The yards are another option for producers to maximise value, (which is) very important for sustainability of the industry.”
Mr Wormoll also said a slowing market in the United States could provide opportunities for Australian producers.
“The outlook is good – at the moment, the US is slowing down its production and that provides opportunities for Australian beef,” Mr Wormoll said.
“We’ve just been through a large herd rebuilding phase in Australia, there’s lot of livestock poised to fill those gaps the US is leaving around the world.”
One of the main talking point this week has been new US-based, trade tariffs facing countries like Mexico, Canada and China.
It was not known whether Australian beef would also be subject special duties but some analysts have concluded Australia would benefit regardless with a rise in US domestic prices making US beef exports less competitive against Australian beef in key global markets.
Gunnedah shire Australia Day working group chair Ann Luke and 2025 Australia Day ambassador Patrick Wormoll.
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