By his own admission Garth Russell has put himself in a position of privilege time and again.
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As a self-described extractor of stories, the well-known Hunter journalist spends much of his time recording the stories of others.
And now Russell has told the story of Tocal Agricultural College. In a DVD titled Reflections on Tocal College, Russell details the genesis of agricultural education there as told by college principals, senior staff, farmers and former students.
“I certainly knew how important history was to Tocal and I know the word passion is bandied around a lot, but I really got a sense that there is a real passion for this place,” Russell said.
“I think the fact there have only been four principals since 1965 was really interesting and, also, fairly unusual.”
As part of the interviewing process Russell interviewed the principals including the late George McFarlane, who was made college principal in 1967.
“George really set the ground work, and the mission statement almost, really early in the piece and it’s just gone on from there,” Russell said.
“The core value of teaching people to really respect the land and to respect a job in agriculture was really there from day one.”
Russell said the DVD revealed the culture, passion and successes of the college, along with its beginnings and development.
“I’ve put myself in a really privileged position time after time and I’m really grateful I have done what I’ve done because I get to listen to the most amazing stories and, in the end, the audience is broader than me,” Russell said.
“It gets backs to how lucky I am that I get to spend time with these people.”