Community & Business
17 October, 2025
Former community stalwart and flag raiser remembered
Long time business owner and stalwart of the Oakey community Bobby Connelly OAM, who died recently at the age of 96, is being remembered for raising the Australian flag at Rotary Park each morning.
Born in Toowoomba, Bobby Connelly (nee Searle) was educated at Rangeville State School and Moreton Bay College at Manly West in Brisbane.
After graduating school, she met Oakey man Joe Connelly at a dance in Toowoomba.
The two hit it off, and after marrying, moved to Oakey, where Joe’s family owned a local business Connelly’s Motors.
Bobby soon settled in, and took to Oakey life like a duck to water.
In her business career in town, she was the driving force behind keeping Connelly’s Motors going for decades, and founded the Oakey Motel on Toowoomba Road.
Bobby was part of just about every community group in town and seemed to have boundless resources of energy.
Just some of the groups in which she was involved were the Chamber of Commerce, Oakey Rotary Club, the Progress Association, Oakey Show Society, QCWA, church guild and was a founding member of the Oakey Urban Landcare Group in the 1990s.
Retired Oakey Army Aviation medical practitioner Dr Eric Donaldson describes how his first experience of entering Oakey was meeting Bobby Connelly:
“When I came to Oakey in 1970 first place I went to was the garage, out came Bobby who talked about the town,” he said.
“Many people had the same experience.”
Bobby became known for her daily act of raising the flag at Rotary Park (better known today as the Skate Park) in the morning, and pulling it down in the evening, even after travelling back from Brisbane.
Long time friend Jill Mathews saw Bobby’s passion and energy up close over many years.
“She did so much for Oakey,” she said.
“She put the flag up for the Rotary Park, rail hail or shine
“She could get along with anybody.
“There was nothing that Bobby couldn’t do.
“She did everything so thoroughly, that no one doubted what she did book work, figures, anything.”
Former accountant Bruce Finlayson remembers that Bobby kept the Chamber of Commerce going in town.
“Bobby kept the Chamber of Commerce going when there was a declining interest from Oakey businesses,” he said.
“Bobby always had a lovely big smile for you, even if her day was not going that well.
“She was a go-getter, and didn’t take ‘no’ for an answer, if she thought a decision would be detrimental to Oakey and its people.
“She was ably assisted by Joe, and together, they made the perfect couple.
“It is a sad loss for our town now they are both gone.”
Bobby never stopped helping, being mentioned in the Champion dozens of times over the years, and received Jondaryan Shire’s Senior Citizen Award in 1999, the Premier’s Medal for Senior Community Service, and the Order of Australia Medal in 2003.
In 2014, she retired to Toowoomba and was given a big farewell party by her many friends in town.
