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Series Code: TIJ
Program Code: TIJ007101S
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00:27 Jumble Plains is situated on the flat red soil plains of
00:32 New South Wales about 500 kilometers west of Sydney, 00:37 The station or ranch is a prime location for raising livestock 00:43 and growing wheat that swelters in the summer 00:46 and freezes during the winter. 00:49 Jumble Plains was purchased in 1927 by George Mc Lelland 00:55 the son of a Scottish immigrant. 00:57 During its heyday, the property was a lightning rod for some 01:02 of the brightest minds and best events in the Telomere area. 01:06 It was the site of an annual golf tournament, horse races, 01:10 ballroom dances, school concerts and fireworks displays 01:15 in the region. 01:17 But there was more to Jumble Plains than an eclectic mix of 01:21 bush glamour and good old- fashioned-ranching. 01:24 The McLellan family were at the heart of 01:27 the entire operation and they were stalwart leaders in the 01:31 area. The family weathered the same trials the any other 01:36 grazing family in the Australian Bush might endure 01:39 including a seven year drought, being overrun by rabbits, 01:44 and having to deal with below average crops. 01:47 In 1940 George McLellan's grandson was born 01:52 his parents couldn't decide on a name for their firstborn 01:55 child and according to family law, they decided on his name 02:00 on the way to the hospital, they named him Alan Anthony 02:05 McLellan and he came to be known as Tony. 02:08 Tony, what was your first memory of this house? 02:14 Big, rambling, famous, and I remember rolling on the lawn 02:28 with my dad when I was probably three, or maybe four. 02:33 That's what sort of sticks in my mind probably brought back 02:38 my picture of the... 02:40 Tony McLellan grew up at Jumble Plains, 02:44 he worked the land alongside his father shooting rabbits 02:48 filling bags of wheat, shearing sheep, and droving cattle, 02:52 but he didn't stay confined to the Australian Bush, 02:56 Carrying the stock whip here given him as a boy as a reminder 03:00 of his roots, Tony McLellan traveled the world. 03:04 From Singapore and Hong Cong, to Egypt, to London, Canada, 03:11 the United States, to New Zealand, and finally back 03:15 to Australia. 03:17 This son of the bush climbed to the pinnacle of corporate 03:21 success, he became, he became a thriving Real Estate mogul 03:25 and a Mining Entrepreneur, his story is one both immense 03:30 success and crushing defeat. 03:33 Join me this week as we look at the action packed life of 03:38 Tony McLellan, shearer, drover, wildly successful business man 03:43 humanitarian, man of God, and a true blue Australian 03:49 through and through. 04:03 I would describe Tony McLellan as a highly intelligent and 04:07 thoughtful man, a kindly man, a man of enormous generosity 04:13 of spirit, and someone who seems to have almost wired into his DNA 04:20 and decide to make a contribution and to serve 04:24 I don't think that he has such a thing as a philosophy 04:27 of retirement. I'm motivated dynamite, I would call 04:32 Tony McLellan a motivated dynamo, he's motivated 04:36 by his very deep Christian faith also he's motivated by 04:41 the free enterprise desire to experiment to succeed 04:46 more appropriately and he has boundless energy. 04:51 And I also credit him with a very good business brain, 04:55 so that's a pretty formidable combination. 04:59 Well, I think like anybody who really excels in a particular 05:04 profession or discipline that Tony has an intuition 05:07 particularly for business but more than that he's got 05:12 a real heart for people. 05:13 You know, I've seen him on many occasions for instance 05:15 travel, despite the fact that his own health at the time 05:19 not being good traveled hundreds of kilometers in order to 05:22 comfort a friend or encourage a friend. 05:24 And I suppose above everything for those who know him 05:29 he's an encourager of every- body he meets. 05:33 Tony, he's a bit of force of nature really, 05:34 he's one of those people who comes in, radiates confidence 05:41 encouragement, and the desire to help and picks people up 05:46 pick organizations up, picks things up and helps to bring 05:52 them to a better place. So look at Tony has had 05:57 a significant role in business over the years, 06:01 he's made a lot of money, he's lost a lot of money, 06:04 he's made a lot of money again and now he's determined 06:08 to use the resources he's got for good and I think that's 06:13 holy admirable. 06:20 Tony McLellan was born at the Tullamore Hospital near 06:24 Jumble Plains on the first of April 1940 in the middle of 06:29 one of the most tenuous times in History. 06:31 When he entered the world, Australia was in the early 06:36 stages of the II World War and times were tough 06:39 for the working class. He was also born in the midst of one of 06:43 the worst droughts of the century. 06:45 But as almost is always in the case of this rugged but resilient 06:49 land, the drought broke and the farmers managed to hold 06:53 on to their lands and their sheep and cattle. 06:56 Perhaps it was growing up in conditions like this 07:00 that shaped Tony into the indomitable resilient man 07:04 that he later became. 07:06 Tony, what was life like growing up in the outback 07:11 here at Jungle Plains. Oh, it was so amazing just 07:18 to think that I was blessed with this incredible opportunity 07:23 to live on this joined property and learn something about 07:28 farming, raising cattle and I just...It swells in me now 07:38 when I think about it all. 07:40 As a boy and youth Tony's days were filled with typical rounds 07:46 of farm chores but his responsibilities grew as he did 07:52 and he soon found himself shearing sheep and spending 07:56 hours on horseback in the open country. 07:58 While the station provided Tony with numerous adventures 08:03 he also experienced his fair share of excitement at school. 08:07 He was first sent to the Pinefield Public School 08:12 where there was only a maximum of eleven students across 08:16 five grades all cramped together in a single-roomed hut. 08:21 The experience was both fun and confining. 08:25 I spent five years there, no one ever in my grade 08:29 so when I came out on the sixth grade I was... 08:33 And what was it like in a small school like that? 08:36 Well, I didn't have anything with which to compare it 08:40 except that at the end my parents said well you got to 08:45 go to high school and they packed me off to Scott's College in 08:49 Sydney and I went into a boarding school with 08:53 a thousand boys, it was daunting. 08:56 Tony's time at boarding school was marred by the illness of his 09:01 father Allen. In July 1956 Tony received word that his 09:06 father was very ill. At 15 in fact, my dad became very ill 09:13 and asked me when I was home on September holidays 09:17 whether I'd be prepared to leave school and come and help him 09:21 run the property and I jumped at the idea. 09:24 It wasn't that I didn't like school but I didn't enjoy it 09:29 but I did enjoy working here and I left school and 09:34 a few months later he died on his 44th birthday, very tragic. 09:41 Barely 16 Tony was left to manage Jumble Plains and its team 09:48 adult workers on his own. 09:50 The following three years proved to be a tough apprenticeship 09:54 with a steep learning curve. Tony was forced to quickly 09:59 master all the skills needed to manage cattle, sheep, 10:03 and farming. Sadly after three years of working the land 10:10 Tony was forced to sell Jumble Plains regardless of how well 10:16 the wool market was doing, the estate taxes following 10:19 his father's death dealt with the property a crippling blow. 10:24 After selling the property Tony became a stock and station 10:29 agent and auctioneer starting off with the 10:33 Australian Mercantile Land and Finance Company 10:35 in Sydney. He was sent to Young which was in a large 10:39 Livestock Sales Center to learn the art of Auctioneering. 10:43 It was when staying in the Toetenam Hotel that Tony 10:47 first met his wife, Rae, it was a Monday morning in October 10:51 1959 and Tony went to his usual breakfast spot only to find 10:56 a young lady seated at what he had come to think of 11:00 as his own table. 11:01 I didn't know at the time its led to 61 years of wonderful 11:10 marriage, three beautiful kids, and experiences all around 11:15 the world began at this very table. 11:18 Ten months later they were engaged and five months 11:23 after that, they were married on the 19th of January, 1961 11:27 in Sydney. They bought their first home a tiny weatherboard 11:32 and fibrous cement home in Warren, Western New South Wales 11:35 and settled into a life as a newly married couple. 11:39 The first two years of their marriage was wrought with 11:44 challenges and a lot of change. 11:46 They moved to Sydney where among other opportunities 11:50 Tony saw an opening to resume his education which he had 11:54 abandoned in the wake of his father's death. 11:57 They lived in Ashfield where Ray began teaching 12:01 and Tony simultaneously took up two courses in 12:05 Property devaluation. While studying, he managed to land 12:09 a job in the Property Department of a big corporation in 12:13 North Sydney. Their first son Scott was born in February 1966 12:19 and their second son Stewart was born two years later. 12:23 Then came their daughter Samantha in 1972. 12:27 The McLellans found themselves living the great Australian 12:32 dream. A boy from the Bush and the red dirt plains of the 12:35 Outback, making it big in Sydney with a happy and healthy 12:40 family. No one could have asked for more and yet God had so much 12:45 more in store for all of them. 12:48 During much of his early career, Tony managed a slew of 12:55 high-profile real estate development projects that him 12:59 working for big corporations both at home and around 13:02 the globe. In the 1970's, he was given the opportunity 13:07 of managing a massive real- estate development project 13:11 in Egypt. It was a challenge but one that Tony and Ray 13:15 tackled with a blend of pragmatism and determination. 13:19 They packed up the family and moved to Egypt where Tony 13:24 took up the reigns of the new project and settled into 13:27 managing one of the biggest business challenges 13:30 of his entire career at the age of just 35. 13:35 It was a grand adventure that saw him learning Arabic 13:39 and navigating the intricacies of doing business throughout 13:43 the Middle East. 13:44 During their time in Egypt the McLellan's posted 13:48 lavish parties for members of the Saudi Royal family, 13:51 attended glitzy dinner parties at embassies, survived a 13:56 populous riot and explored the wonders of the famous 14:00 Valley of the Kings. 14:02 While working on the project in Egypt, he received 14:06 another offer, this one was to move to Canada 14:09 to undertake another Real- Estate Development Project 14:13 the family moved to Toronto in August 1979. 14:18 After a few months in Canada Tony was given another 14:22 opportunity, this time to move out of hotel development 14:27 which he had largely been involved in and into 14:30 Resource Mining, it was a big shift mostly because 14:34 by his own admission, he knew nothing about resources 14:38 or mining but Tony McLellan has never been a man 14:43 to back down from a challenge 14:46 Accepting the offer he formed a new corporation, 14:49 negotiated shareholders agreements, found investors, 14:54 and traveled to Denver Colorado for a crash course in geology 14:59 and the extraction of oil and gas. 15:01 The years continued to fly by in a blur of successful deals 15:08 lavish parties, and watching the children grow up. 15:11 Everything seemed to be going well until Tony hit 15:16 what he calls a mid-life crisis around his 47th birthday. 15:20 After years of pouring his energy into his career 15:25 cracks began to appear in his marriage. 15:27 Tony describes himself as becoming verbally abusive 15:32 towards his wife and their children. 15:34 While Rae patiently bore the situation for a time, 15:38 there came a point where she chose to remove herself from 15:42 what had become a toxic situation. 15:45 Yes, we had a rather fowl argument between Christmas 15:51 and New Year and I said to Tony, enough' s enough, I can't 15:57 do this anymore. I had no intention of getting a divorce 16:01 I didn't want a divorce but I wanted to think about it. 16:06 and think things through and see if there was any way forward 16:10 and so I got plane tickets for Samantha and me 16:16 and left and went to Australia and Tony came back from playing 16:21 tennis which he had gone for a few days to do 16:24 and found that I had gone and I think gave him a very nasty 16:31 unpleasant shock. 16:32 Tony was shattered, reflecting on the incident, he writes... 16:46 He felt as though everything he had worked so hard for 16:50 the last 30 years was now out the window and he faced 16:55 a gaping hole of futility. 16:57 With his wife gone, he struggled to see purpose and meaning 17:01 in his life. Overwhelmed by utter despair 17:05 Tony collapsed in a heap in front of his expensive but empty home. 17:10 It was a moment of absolute despondency and he realized 17:15 that he needed help, but he didn't know where to turn. 17:18 When he had hit rock bottom his minister friend Dr. Youssef 17:23 called and told him that he would like to come by 17:26 for a visit. When Dr. Youssef arrived, he took one look 17:30 at Tony and knew that he wasn't doing well. 17:33 When I explained what was happening, he said 17:37 you need Jesus and I said no, I need help. 17:40 I didn't at that time...I wasn't aware, wasn't conscious 17:45 of the fact that the source of the help was Jesus 17:48 and he got me on my knees praying and my whole life 17:54 changed from that very moment. 17:55 And the most amazing thing is that within 10 minutes 18:01 I realized that I was the cause of the problem. 18:05 I would have never admitted I was sort of persuaded it was 18:09 good with difficulty. Why wasn't she more sympathetic 18:14 with my traveling? and suddenly I realized it was mine. 18:18 Tony experienced the healing power of the words of 18:23 Psalm 23 and verse one. 18:30 He realized that God is the Shepherd 18:32 who is willing to search for and cover His lost sheep 18:36 who have gone astray. 18:38 In January of 1988 Tony arrived in Australia 18:43 and was reunited with his wife, they were reconciled 18:48 and flew back to their home in Atlanta to start afresh. 18:51 After they had settled in, they decided to serve God 18:56 through the agency of Christian Ministries. 18:58 Not long after his reconciliation with Rae 19:04 Tony ventured into software development at the time 19:08 the IT Industry was still in its infancy and the potential 19:13 inherent in the new advance- ments excited Tony. 19:16 He raised capital and set up the McLellan's Software Center 19:21 signing a deal with a team of Brazilian software developers 19:25 in January 1991. 19:27 But the venture proved to be difficult to navigate, 19:31 the company ran out of money and took with it much 19:34 of Tony's finances, his life savings disappeared 19:38 the banks foreclosed on their lavish home and they were 19:41 forced to sell cars in order to raise cash to survive. 19:46 Their financial situation became so bad that there were times 19:51 that they had less than $20 between them. 19:54 At times they were so overwhelmed by their 19:56 difficulties that they found it hard to pray. 20:00 Their minister gave them some sound advice 20:03 he told them to spend their prayer time praising 20:07 and thanking God for everything they did have. 20:10 and this piece of wisdom proved to be a great source of 20:14 comfort and help. 20:16 Through the four years of financial hardship that 20:18 the McLellans endured they were often tempted to 20:22 despair over their circumstances but God sustained them. 20:26 Their faith in God the support of their church community, 20:30 gave them strength to weather the storm. 20:33 Finally, after years of struggling, Tony got his first 20:38 break when a Dutch investor was willing to give him the 20:41 seed capital that he needed to start a new software company. 20:45 When he eventually returned to Australia, 20:49 he served on the board of Opportunity International 20:52 and was appointed chairman of Habitat for Humanity 20:56 and later the Australian Christian Lobby. 20:59 They set up the McLellan Foundation and a number of 21:04 ministries for which they provided seed capital. 21:08 Tony went a step further and kicked off a new career 21:11 in the Christian Not For Profit world co-founding citizens 21:16 for community values. 21:18 Years later, Tony formed the Chrysos Corporation 21:23 in partnership with CSIRO. This company has developed 21:29 Photo NASA a new technology that is significantly 21:33 improved the mining value chain. 21:35 The success of the venture has enabled the 21:39 McLellan Foundation to invest in Christian projects 21:42 around the world. Tony wanted to turn his success 21:47 into lasting significance, he wanted to make a difference. 21:52 This is especially seen in two of the projects 21:56 most dear to Tony's heart. 21:58 The first is the building of the McLellan Hall 22:02 a new facility at the Lachlan Macquarie Institute of which 22:06 Tony has been a director for many years. 22:09 The next is the Favor Hospital near the capital of Tanzania 22:15 funded by the McLellan foundation Dafadra 22:19 is a Fistula Hospital dedicated to serve the needs of women 22:24 in East Africa. For Tony, these projects represent a move from 22:30 success to significance, a shift in direction from simply 22:34 amassing wealth and living an affluent lifestyle 22:38 to a lifestyle that impacts individuals in communities 22:42 in meaningful and life- changing ways. 22:45 Tony's conversion to Christian Faith gave him a great impetus 22:50 to be a very good businessman who could be trusted 22:55 he could be seen to be trusted and it also gave him 22:59 a surprising drive to succeed in business so that he could 23:04 use the proceeds to make a difference in other people's 23:07 lives and Tony seems extraordinarily motivated 23:10 in a very admirable way to want to make a contribution 23:14 to others for as long as he can. 23:15 Tony's Christian faith caused him to look outwards 23:19 I think people ought to look inwards, what can this do 23:22 for me, what can it do for my company, 23:23 what can it do for my family? 23:25 Tony is always thinking what can this do for humanity? 23:29 For my fellow human beings? For God's creatures? 23:32 And I think that that way of looking at the world 23:36 just changes the way you do business and changes the way 23:39 you think about wealth and the importance of wealth 23:42 and possessions, everything is Tony's life is about how 23:47 can I best use this for God's glory and not for my own. 23:50 When I was a member of Stalwart I used to say that 23:54 there are lots of people who wanted to give me their 23:58 advice. There were a smaller number of people who were 24:01 prepared to give me their time but there was almost no one 24:06 who was prepared to hand over their cash and yet to get 24:10 anything done you need resources and the foundational 24:15 resource of everything is cash so Tony McLellan is 24:20 one of those people who is prepared to come with 24:24 that which counts, with cold hard cash to help the 24:29 the causes the individuals he believes in 24:32 and that makes him incredibly significant particularly 24:36 on the Santa ride if you like, on the conservative side 24:42 of our public and community life because of these are 24:48 difficult times for people who believe in what might be 24:54 described as traditional values, traditional institutions, 24:57 traditional ways of life and Tony is one of those people 25:01 who doesn't just lament the difficulties that we have 25:08 he tries in his own way to do something to make them 25:12 better so, that's wonderful, ...that continue? 25:22 The story of Tony McLellan's life is one of perseverance, 25:26 determination, and the joy of walking with Jesus. 25:30 These are the lessons, Tony teaches us... 25:33 The value of good old-fashioned hard work, and the necessity of 25:38 faith to bring us through the hard times, but perhaps 25:43 the most poignant part of Tony's story is the truth 25:46 that God is always striving to reach us no matter how young 25:51 or old we or where we are in life, it is never too late 25:56 to give your life to Jesus. 25:58 There is no problem too big, no sin too dark, 26:02 no struggle to fierce that Jesus doesn't have a remedy for. 26:07 He sees you and He knows you and He's reaching out to you 26:12 in love and compassion. 26:13 If you would like to make the choice to follow Jesus today 26:17 then I'd like to recommend the free gift we have for 26:21 all our Incredible Journey viewers today 26:25 it's the booklet Tips for a Successful Life. 26:28 This booklet is our gift to you and is absolutely free, 26:32 I guarantee, there are no costs or obligations whatsoever. 26:37 So make the most of this wonderful opportunity 26:41 to receive your free gift today. 26:44 Phone or text 0436.333.555 in Australia or 024.422.2042 26:55 in New Zealand, or 770.800.0266 in the United States. 27:01 Or visit our website at tij.tv or simply scan the QR Code 27:07 on your screen and we'll send you today's free offer 27:11 totally free of charge and with no obligation. 27:14 You can also write to us at the addresses on your screen. 27:17 or email us at info@tij.tv don't delay call or text us now. 27:25 If you've enjoyed our journey with Tony McLellan 27:29 from Jumble Plains to the pinnacle of International success 27:33 and our reflections on turning our successes into lasting 27:38 significance, then be sure to join us again next week 27:42 when we will share another of Life's Journey's together. 27:45 Until then, let's pray to the great God of the universe 27:50 who loves us, cares for us, and guides us. 27:54 Dear Heavenly Father, We thank you for the way 27:58 that you have guided and led Tony McLellan. 28:01 We pray that you will guide our lives also, 28:04 please lead us and our families from here to eternity. 28:10 We pray in Jesus' name. Amen! |
Revised 2024-07-18