Name: Albert Benfer.
Suburb: Mt Cotton.
What’s your business? I am an uneducated chook farmer. My dad started the business 90 years ago and it has grown into a totally integrated poultry business, Golden Cockerel. We start with parent breeders which produce fertile eggs which we hatch into meat chicks and grow into mature poultry. Poultry husbandry has given me the opportunity visit countries doing advanced research into poultry health and nutrition.
Do you have any interesting stories about your job? The business began when there was no knowledge of treating diseases in intensive poultry farming. Dad experimented by mixing some bird droppings into their drinking water, thinking this would give them immunity. The chickens he treated all died.
What’s your favourite local dine-in and take-away? My preference when dining is Asian food – Chinese, Thai, Indian and Vietnamese, in that order. Thai Siam is a favourite, and the Courthouse for great Aussie fare. I enjoy food, full stop!
Best local activity: I am involved with Rotary and I enjoy working with the various charities that supply educational and medical items to neighboring countries. I have been on team building visits to Timor and PNG, working on facilities for disabled people. My favorite local activity is boating and fishing in Moreton Bay.
The last book you read: I mostly read biographies of people like Mother Theresa, Nelson Mandela and people who have contributed to mankind. The latest book I read was the life of Dr. Catharine Hamblin who, with her husband, established a fistula hospital in Ethiopia.
The last tv show or movie you watched? I really am not a great movie go-er, it is difficult to find a movie based on real life. My favorite TV shows are Back Road, Places with Ernie Dingo, Letters and Numbers and Landline.
Is there anything you’d like to see happen in the local area? I would like to see more of our natural bushland preserved. I live on acreage with mostly bush where I can feed the wallabies, bandicoots, the occasional koala, king parrots and lots of other birds.
Is there a local business/community group/club you’d like to give a shout-out to? I have been on the board of Horizon for many years and have a great affection for people with disability. I have a great feeling for Meals On Wheels and also love the activities provided by Donald Simpson Centre for elderly folk. There are so many great organisations in the community, too many to mention.
