Bowral General Cemetery 109 Kangaloon Rd Bowral NSW 2576
Cemetery Address
Bowral, NSW
Demonination/Area
Bapist
Grave Type
Burial - Grave
Notes
19 06 1955 Promoted
AFR Feb 4, 2005
Trading Post founder saved youth service
John McAllery, who died in Sydney on Monday, was a very private man but now his secret can be told.
The founder of the Trading Post was awarded an OA last year for his service to business development and his philanthropic work but few people knew the extent of his generosity.
In 1992 he saw a story on Sixty Minutes about how Youth Insearch, an organisation that helps young people with troubled backgrounds, was in danger of closing due to lack of funds. McAllery's assistant rang the CEO, Ron Barr, the next day and offered $2000 a week for a year, provided the donor remained anonymous. The cheque kept arriving until his death this week. "It is one-tenth of our income now, but our whole income back then," Barr said.
McAllery also bought Youth Insearch, which has helped more than 26,000 young Australians, 32 acres on the Nepean River and gave $200,000 towards the purchase of Kurrajong Health Farm for a youth camp. All up, he gave almost $2 million.
Barr said McAllery, known as "any mouse" around the Insearch office, visited the organisation only once. "He was a man of few words who gave away no secrets. [Yet] 20,000 of those kids would owe their opportunity to John McAllery."
Australia Day Honours
Sources
Service Record - Australian National Archives
Service Record - Australian National Archives
Nominal Roll - Department of Veterans Affairs
