ROBERT Arthur Krause OAM had many passions in life - family, faith, farming, politics and the Marburg Show.

He was the second child and only son of Victor and Gertrude Krause, was born on January 23, 1936, in the Rosewood Hospital.

He was baptised at St Paul’s Lutheran Church at Haigslea.

Robert, or Bob as he became known to many over the years, grew up on the family dairy farm on the Rosewood Marburg Road with his sisters, Audrey, Barbara, Margaret, Mary and Carolyn.

At the end of his first day at Marburg State School in 1942, he was in such a hurry that he had a buster off his bike, knocked himself out and ended up at Marburg hospital with quite a few injuries.

During his primary schooling years, he had a great time being a young boy, riding bikes and ponies, playing cricket, and doing jobs around the farm.

But it was also a time of significant hardship as the country was still recovering from the depression years and World War II was still going.

He often recalled times when the US troops travelled in seemingly endless convoys of vehicles through Marburg throwing coins and lollies out to the school kids, who were watching and waiting to cross the road.

They also camped locally and came to purchase produce and eggs from the local farmers. A few old army boxes survived as relics around the farm for years.

He attended St Peters Lutheran College as a boarder in 1950 and 1951 and was confirmed in November 1950.

In his own words, he was … “a naïve, usually bare-footed, quiet country boy, who believed that fast is best when it came to riding bikes, horses and playing cricket, both batting and bowling”.

It has been debated that other fields of endeavour were at his fingertips. Bob did very well academically in his two years of secondary schooling, receiving all A’s except for one B.

In a different generation, Bob would have completed senior and tertiary studies and then achieved well in his chosen trade or profession.

From history to geology, science and technical and engineering matters, his general knowledge and ability to understand issues across the board was exceptional.

However, as the only son, there was farming to do and as such in 1952, his farming apprenticeship began alongside his father. Bob would spend the next 50 years living and farming at Rosewood Road, Marburg.

In 2002, his son, Tim and his family moved to the farm and continued to run a few grow-out heifers until Tim and his wife Alison purchased the property. During this transition of stewardship of the farm, Tim and his father worked on significant amounts of fencing together, passing on skills and learning together as the beef cattle activities commenced.

Bob’s advice given to Tim on his 21st birthday was recalled during the funeral service … “live your life with honesty and integrity”.

His community involvement was extensive. He took part in the Junior Farmers Club, the Marburg Show, the Marburg Cricket Club, Lutheran Youth and then later on, he was actively involved in the Country Party and National Party. In 1957, he completed by correspondence a Certificate of Agricultural Science to improve his farming skills.

Significant time and energy were spent getting Luther Heights established at Coolum as a youth campsite for the Lutheran Church. Many trips were taken in his ute to work on this project, and looking at photographs of what the Coolum landscape looked like then, compared to now, shows the sheer enormity of the task they faced.

The roads back then were not like they are now, nor were the equipment required to establish facilities like that. Not only did this project require significant fundraising, but it also took a significant amount of sheer hard work that Dad was a part of co-ordinating. He never said much about it, but this facility still serves the broader southeast Queensland community today.

Another special time for Bob was his involvement with Junior Farmers, where he actively participated in the promotion of agriculture with exhibits at local shows, Ipswich Show and the Brisbane Royal (the Ekka) including a winning exhibit at the 1956 Ekka.

During this time, he participated in leadership challenges, exchange trips to Sydney Show camp and to Tasmania.

He later served on the State Advisory Council for the Junior Farmers, and one of the branches he was working with just happened to be Rosewood.

While advising the Rosewood Junior Farmers he met a young lady that, in future years, would change his life.

After a couple of years of courting via Rural Youth and Church, while mum was teaching and dad was being the bush bachelor, an engagement was announced in January 1972.

Robert Krause and Janet Ham were married on June 10, 1972 in a marriage that lasted for 52 years.

For many years, Bob was very engaged in politics. His first foray into party politics was with the Young Liberals in Ipswich, and he was on the State Council of the Young Liberals. At one stage he was a member of both the Liberal Party and the Country Party, but over time, he became very involved in the Country Party, including the Young Country Party.

He kept newspaper clippings of some of the contributions he made speaking up about issues affecting the dairy industry and also his advocacy for the adoption of new agricultural policies and practices – from the political level, to the farming level.

In 1972, Sir Harold Richter retired, and Bob put himself forward to be the Country Party candidate for Somerset.

With slogans like ‘Bob’s the Bloke’ and ‘Give Bob the Job’, he ran a credible campaign considering Marburg was very much on the fringes of the seat. However, it was not to be.

Bob’s involvement in the party continued strongly until the mid-1990s – and then started again in about 2012.

After Bob and Janet were married, the farming business transitioned to RA & JM Krause.

Bob farmed and renovated the old farmhouse, as per mum’s instructions, and mum taught through to the end of 1973, the year their son Tim was born.

He would be the first of four – Paul was born in 1975, David in 1977 and Jon in 1981.

During this time, the farm was further developed, with a new dam built for irrigation, and a substantial time and financial investment in improving the genetics of the dairy herd, with regular herd testing and a lot of reporting around cow production and herd health.

As with all farming enterprises, there was the ongoing challenges with drought, flooding and prices, all of which Bob juggled with the demands of four busy boys and their ongoing education, support of the Marburg Show Society and contributing to St Matthew’s Lutheran congregation.

Bob was a prominent supporter of Lutheran education and when the idea of a Lutheran college in the Lockyer Valley was first raised, Bobs support was sought to advocate within the Rosewood and Marburg area for a college many thought was just a pipedream.

He joined the planning committee of Faith Lutheran College and then was on the College Council until 2009.

And he continued to serve St Mathew’s in many ways; from mowing the grass to Chairman of the congregation for more than 20 years.

During 2001, some medical issues presented, and hastened the end of the farming activity, and it came to a stop in November 2001, when the dairy herd was sold.

A new home was built and Bob and Janet moved from Rosewood Road to Schubels Road in 2002.

During this early part of Bob’s retirement, his involvement in the show society increased with roles on the committee, leading to becoming the Marburg Show President in 2006. He held that position until 2017.

He was the founder and inaugural Secretary - Treasurer of the Marburg Christmas Carnival which commenced in 1968 and a co-author of a book on 125 years of the Marburg Show in 2013. He was awarded life membership of the Society in 1994.

Bob and Janet celebrated their Golden Wedding anniversary in 2022 with family and friends. The occasion was made even more special as both endured serious illnesses in the years, prior to the event.

It was the same year, Bob was humbled to receive an Order of Australia Medal at Government House in Brisbane in recognition of his service to various community activities over a long period.

Unfortunately, over the last couple of years, Bob’s health deteriorated as he was diagnosed with a condition known as amyloidosis.

His last stay in hospital began on March 12 and he passed away peacefully during the night of March 22.

He is survived by his wife, Janet, four sons, nine grandchildren, four sisters, and the families of each.