MICK Gibson, one of the true rags-to-riches success stories of the Northern Australian livestock industry, has passed away in Brisbane after a short illness, aged 83.

Mick was possessed of a keen commercial instinct and acute sense of opportunity when it came to trading sheep, cattle or property, which he applied across seven decades.

Growing up in western Queensland, he lost both parents at a young age, getting his first start in the livestock industry after boarding at Brisbane’s Nudgee College when he drew a small block carved off Thylungra, near Quilpie, in the state’s far southwest.

He once recounted in an interview how his early income was from buying local sheep in the wool, shearing them, and moving them on to sales elsewhere off-shears for a profit.

That early experience saw him involved in countless large cattle and sheep deals, often shifting stock long distances to maximise commercial advantage. As a cattle and sheep trader, he was often spoken about in the same context as people like Arthur Earle and Wallace Logan.

Over the past half century Mick also bought and sold numerous grazing properties across Queensland, sensing value and opportunity due to drought, shifting cattle market conditions and other factors.

Cattle work on Bulloo Downs

His purchase of Bulloo Downs, on the NSW boarder southwest of Thargomindah, became his defining legacy. He bought the enormous 11,000sq km Channel Country holding from the new owners of Stanbroke Pastoral Co, around 2006, and has retained it ever since, becoming the foundation of the family’s extensive Gibson Grazing operations.

At different times he owned and operated grazing properties across the state, including the gulf region (Lotus Vale and Stirling, which he later sold because of their intensive supplementation requirement), Dutton River north of Hughenden, Mt Marlow near Yaraka,  The Orient, Binda Station near Bollon, and 400,000ha Dynover Downs between Thargomindah and Cunnamulla.

Mick is survived by his wife Marie and sons Liam, Declan and Patrick.

A larger than life character who many considered a friend, rather than an acquaintance, Mick built an enormous pastoral business, all the while making life-long friendships with people from all walks of life.

“He was a man of his word and held strong values. He loved his family and we will sorely miss him,” a family post on Facebook said earlier today. “He lived a very full life, the rural industry has lost one of its true characters.”

Funeral details will be added here when they become available.