Transmission June 2012 - National Road Transport Hall of Fame

Issue No # 18: JUNE 2012
New in the Collection
ReUnion 2012
23 - 26 August 2012 inclusive
ALiCe SpriNgS
This 1976 Atkinson was used by John Avery
to haul from Port Augusta. Donated by Harris
Transport it is powered by a 350 Cummins
and has 15 spd Roadranger & 44,000lb diffs.
This 1972
Ford D200
Series was
donated by
Lindsay
and Joan
Johannsen
This White Road Commander and strap trailer
was donated by Marley Transport (Meridin
WA). It is powered by a 350 small cam
Cummins. Thanks to Frank ( who owned it for
twenty years) and his contingent who drove
it all the way across the desert to deliver it.
Donated
by Wally
Lord this
1956
Morris
Minor is
in good
condition
This little Commer TS3 also hails from WA and
was delivered to us by Frank Marley. We’ve
been chasing a TS3 for a while and purchased
this one from a farmer in Trayning WA. Thanks
to Patron Lew Couper for doing the deal.
This International C1800
1.
tipper truck was donated to
the Hall of Fame by Patrick
Brown (Patrick Homes) of
Alice Springs. It runs well.
This 1950 truck (another
from the West) is unusual
in that it is badged both
2.
Mapleleaf and Chevrolet
This FJ45
Toyota along
with some
other items
was donated
by the Schwarz
Family in
Darwin who
used it in their
buffalo meat
operation on
Wildman River
* BOOK NOW *
CALL 08 89527161
Come by road -by car or truck - come by
railway train or aeroplane, even by camel
back or horse - just make sure your in the
Alice for ReUnion 2012 to join our
celebration of the 17th anniversary of the
National Road Transport Hall of Fame.
Small caravan park
on site for members
info@roadtransporthall.com
Greg Whitford and Annette Bateson at Devils Marbles
Four Days of Activities
Including
* Shell Rimula Wall of Fame
Induction Ceremony
*Cummins Truckie’s Race Day
* Meet-the -Milemaker Lunch
*Truckin Life Rig of the Year
* Cameleers Curry Night
Fun for the Whole family
We’ve owned this Morris
Commercial Fire tender for a few
years but just had it delivered
from Brisbane. It is apparently
only one of three in Australia.
LIFE BUILDING
MEMBERSHIP
STILL AVAILABLE
SEE PAGE #16 FOR DETAILS
Transmission
Kenworth Kidǯs Books
After the huge success and popularity of the …Š‹Ž†”‡ǯ• book entitled ǮKennyǯs
Great Adventureǯ, featuring the Kenworth Dealer Hall of Fame, Kenworth are
proud to announce the release of the second book in the series ǮKenny and the
Jetsǯ. Follow Kenny and friends through over 20 pages of adventures from the
airport, to the docks and back to the truck show.
A must read and a great gift for the young, and the young at heart, who love
trucks and road transport. Available now from the souvenir shop at the Road
Transport Hall of Fame.
Transmission
Notice
Board 2012
reUNiON
Board of Management 2012
C.E.O.
Liz Martin OAM
PATRON
Lew Couper
Chairperson
David Kent
Vice Chair (and NSW ) Bruce Gunter
courtesy of
Ned Amezdroz
Put it in your diary now Secretary
Treasurer
Graham Holmes
23rd -26th Aug Past Chair
Kelvin Davis
Kenworth
Jim (JJ) Hurley
in
Old Ghan Railway
Peter Dendle
Alice Springs
Victoria
Doug
Brockfield
BOOK NOW
Queensland
Louie
Deen
Ph 08 89527161
West Australia
Max Winkless
New South Wales
(as above)
Tasmania
*VACANT*
The official journal of the
IT Technology
Sherrill Ives
Road Transport Historical Society
Ewaninga Siding
Debi Robinson
and the Old Ghan Train Museum
Correspondence To:
The Editor, Liz Martin OAM
PO Box 8099, Alice Springs, 0871
Phone Contacts
Truck Museum
Train Museum
CEO’s Office
Caretakers Res.
08 8952 7161
08 8952 7161
08 8953 8940
08 8953 2955
Chairperson
David Kent
0471 802 134
chair@roadtransporthall.com
Managing Editor
Liz Martin
0429 201 549
info@roadtransporthall.com
Advertising Representative
Liz Martin
08 8952 7161
info@roadtransporthall.com
Contributions This Issue
Liz Martin
Sherrill Ives
Annette Bateson
Kelvin Davis
David Kent
Editorial
Enquiries to the Editor. All members
and friends are invited to contribute
*****************************
Annual Subscription
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Disclaimer
The statements contained in this
publication, while based on information
believed to be true at the time of print,
are not in any way guaranteed or
endorsed. No liability will be accepted by
the Road Transport Historical Society
Inc. for accuracy or correctness of content
of any article or member contributions.
Likewise, all photographs are believed
to have been credited correctly.
3
Road Transport Historical
Society Incorporated
The Road Transport Historical Society
Inc. is a community based volunteer
organisation dedicated to the
preservation and presentation of our
unique transport history.
The National Road Transport Hall of
Fame in Alice Springs is the main project
of the Society. It is a collection of old
trucks, vintage and veteran cars and
collection of photographs and
memorabilia representing the diverse
operation of road transport in Australia.
The display includes a workshop facility
and the Shell Rimula Wall of Fame.
This includes the magnificent Kenworth
Hall of Fame where the history of this
fine company is exhibited in a state-ofthe-art museum and display that is
constantly being upgraded.
We are also responsible for the Old Ghan
Train Museum which is an integral part
of Central Australia’s heritage. This
division boasts a tea-room, museum and
hopefully, train rides in the near future.
The newest part of the Museum is the
Cameleers Garden and display in the
Ghan Museum honoring the role of the
early camel men who pioneered both our
road and rail industries.
The affairs of the RTHS Inc. and all its
divisions are managed by a Board of
Management duly elected by the
membership. All members of this Board
work in a voluntary capacity.
Roving Ambassadors
Sandra Sauer
Mick Clausen
Frank Whiting and Lee Davidson
Dianne and Kevin Shay
Greg Whitford and Annette Bateson
Yvonne Ball and Keith Holden
Len and Helen Gardner
Phillip and Sue Cullen
From
our
Chairman
David
Kent
Over the last few years the Hall of Fame
has grown rapidly and it became
increasingly difficult to get people with
the appropriate skills to fill executive
positions on the Board of Management
because our constitution required these
positions to be filled by Alice Springs
residents. We have now applied to the
Office Of Business Affairs for an
amendment to our constitution so we can
have interstate members on the executive
of the Board of Management.
Proposed amendments to the constitution
were sent to all members for approval and
the overwhelming result was in the
affirmative. At the AGM in February a
new board was elected with myself as
Chairman, Bruce Gunter from Sydney as
Vice Chairman, Graham Holmes our
Treasurer is from Melbourne as is our
Secretary Ned Amezdroz. Another
Victorian to join the committee is Doug
Brockfield from Milawa.
Liz Martin remains as CEO with Peter
Dendle from Victoria representing the Old
Ghan, Sherrill Ives from Alice Springs has
taken on our IT role to look after the
website and Debi Robinson from Alice
Springs is representing our rail siding
section at Ewaninga. Jim Hurley continues
to represent Kenworth on the Board, Max
Winkless from Perth representing
Western Australia and Lew Couper is our
Patron and is also from Western Australia.
Kel Davis didn’t stand for re-election
because of his health problems and we
sincerely thank him for the many years
he put in as Chair and Vice Chair virtually
since the society started.
Our new board has many varied skills and
we are all very excited about the future of
the Hall Of Fame continuing to grow
under Liz’s leadership. We have some
new projects in the pipeline that Liz will
embellish in her report. He will continue
his portfolio for Grounds.
I have just spent a couple of weeks in
Alice Springs helping Liz set up her new
PPE / Store- room and getting our new
miniature railway construction under way
as well as a myriad of other jobs as always
seems to be the case. While I was there
we lost John (JD) Dods, one of our valued
family of volunteers, which was a
traumatic experience for all. We offer our
condolences to the extended Dods family
and to our Volunteers. David Kent
4
Transmission
A Letter from Past Chair Kel Davis
As Presented to the
Annual General Meeting
25 February 2012
It seems to be a long time ago that I walked
into a meeting that I was badgered and
badgered to attend by Judi Robinson. She
kept ringing up and saying to me we need
a bus man on this committee. I thought,
‘why not go, this will be interesting.’
To my surprise and horror I came out of the meeting as Vice
President which I held until Liz became our first CEO. I was then
elected chairperson to this day. I feel with my health problems in
the past twelve months, I would like to take it bit easier, so with
this in mind I would like someone else to take the chairpersons
position. In saying that I would still like to stay on the committee
in some capacity as past chair or something similar as I feel I still
have a lot to offer the Road Transport Hall of Fame.
Before I end this letter I must thank my fellow board members over
the past years and the present board over the past twelve months.
I must say that I was so disappointed in two members of 2010/11
Board for their disruptive and deceitful behaviour towards myself
and especially to our CEO Liz and I thank the present Board for the
way they handled the situation while I was in hospital as I was not
much help to Liz at the time.
To Liz, I have to thank you for your support and strength you
gave me, I know we haven’t always seen eye to eye but we always
have put the Hall of Fame to the front and foremost of our attention.
I have to thank the many wonderful and talented volunteers that
have come to help us at the Hall, also the staff we have had over
the years. In closing I hope that I have many more years left at the
Hall and go on helping it to grow even bigger and better in the
future as this our home for the road transport
Kel Davis
industry on a national level.
Liz mArtiN’S BOOK $30.00
pLeASe Add $12.50 pOStAge ANd hANdLiNg
This is Liz’s story about growing up in
the Outback. It is a journey through
the Northern Territory of the 1950s, 60s
and 70s that will take you deep into
her experiences in the buffalo and
trucking industrys, the eye of Cyclone
Tracy, some illegal barramundi fishing,
the snap of a crocodiles jaw and the
making of the iconic National Road
Transport Hall of Fame in Alice
Springs. Liz is a natural story teller and
her sense of humour and personality
shows through in her writings.
The Hall of Fame is currently researching.......
Contact Liz if you can assist on 0429 201 549
Chief Executive Officer’s Report
Liz Martin OAM
Here we are in the middle of 2012 and I
cant believe how fast this year has gone.
An old mate of mine, who is a bit longer
in the tooth, used to tell me she didn’t
have enough days left in her hours and I
now know what she meant. We seem to
have been busier than ever and as usual
its hard to keep up with the momentum of
this place it is growing so fast and we
have so many exciting new projects going.
In February we had our annual general meeting with members
coming in from around the country. It is always a very busy time
for me and it is fun catching up at social events. With Kel’s illness
he has decided to take a step back. He is still on the management
committee and will be looking after our grounds portfolio which is
no small job on its own. I take this opportunity to thank him for his
unstinting support over the past twenty years. There have been
many trials and tribulations over that time and Kel has been a real
dedicated
stalwart
for the National
We
ApOLOgiSe
tO Road Transport Hall of Fame.
CALicommittee
FAmiLy have returned and we have a few
Most ofteh
last years
new faces as well. David Kent (Port Pirie SA) is our new Chairman
ably supported by Bruce Gunter (Sydney) as our Vice Chair.
Victorians Graham Holmes and Ned Amezdroz are Treasurer and
Secretary respectfully. From Western Australia we still have Lew
Couper as Patron and the intrepid Max Winkless as our Mack /
Volvo man. We are excited that Jim (JJ) Hurley is again our
representative for Kenworth and Peter Dendle for the Old Ghan
Train. Debi Robinson has taken on our Ewaninga re-development
project and Sherrill Ives has taken on the ever-expanding role of
IT Management. We also welcome Doug Brockfield and Mick Best
(Linfox) to the wider Board of Management and the return of Joe
Patten (one of early committee members) back to the team.
It has been busy as ever with all the things we have going on and
we are just heading into our peak tourist season. Predictions are
that there will be a downturn in numbers this year but we are well
positioned to tighten our belts and ride the storm if we have to.
Our miniature railway is well under way and our plans for the new
“Trucks in Action” shed have been submitted to the Development
Consent Authority and we eagerly await the time we can start
construction. We have also built a new PPE / Tool room so we can
better manage OH&S and tool sign outs for volunteers and
relocated our souvenir store-room. We have also completely
refurbed both our administrative and collections archive room and
are still working on updating asset registers. Special thank you to
Annette Bateson, Sherrill Ives, David Kent and Debi Robinson
who have put hundreds of hours into this.
Amazingly, we have already totally outgrown our new library so
have just started to build a new one. We need to raise about $8,000
to complete it so this year both our Annual Raffle and ReUnion
Silent Auction proceeds will be dedicated to the new library. Special
thanks to Phil Cullen who took on the massive job of packing up
our library. As well as the thousands of books we now have we
have amassed a huge digital collection of old brochures, leaflets,
articles and photographs. I have been digitising our 10,000 plus
photos here and Neville (Joe) Kroemer from Port Pirie has been
busy scanning Bob Brudieka’s (Adelaide) huge collection for us.
We have purchased a new computer for all this information and
that will be available for our customers to research on in the new
library. It will also hold our growing collection of visual material.
In closing, I offer my condolences to my good mate Sandra Sauer
on the loss of her partner Ray Parker and to the extended Dods
family on the loss of John (JD) Dods. JD died a couple of weeks
ago unexpectedly here at the Hall of Fame. He was a valued member
of our volunteer family. News just to hand is that
long time member Arthur Gillett has also passed.
Transmission
Meet the new RTHS Management Committee
Liz
Max
Debi
Graham
Kel
Lew
David
5
ReUnion 2012 Update
Bruce
We have introduced most of our committee members in the past couple of newsletters.
Above left to right are: Liz Martin, Max Winkless, Debi Robinson, Graham Holmes, Kel
Davis, Lew Couper, David Kent and Bruce Gunter. Not pictured are Jim (JJ) Hurley who
is again the Kenworth Dealer representative and we also welcome Joe Patten back to the
team having been interstate for several years. New members to the management team
are Ned Amezdroz, Doug Brockfield, Sherrill Ives and Mick Best. See Bio’s below.
Mick Best
Mick Best started in
the road transport
industry in 1964
washing trucks .He
went on to drive full
time for over 25
years primarily on
tankers for Fox,
Knights, Cootes
and Esso.
Mick started back at
Fox as a driver
trainer in 1993
afterwhich he went
into operational
management. After
spending
three
years in NZ as the
Fleet Manager for
Linfox Mick came
back to Australia to
look after Fleet and
Special Projects.
Mick has won many
awards over the
years including
Driver of the Year
for Esso in 1988, the
Operation Manager
Award 1998 VTA
and Personality of
the Year Award 2005
Mick is one of the
industry’s
best
known characters
and says even after
all these years in the
Industry he still
enjoys the challenge
and looks forward
to the daily issues
that always arise.
Sherrill Ives
Sherrill Ives is a
‘grey nomad’ with a
background
in
education having
taught in Tasmanian
schools for most of
her working life. She
has worked in a
variety of positions
over the years: shop
assistant, pizza
cook, taxi driver,
cleaner, ferrying
vehicles, school
management.
It was always her
dream to crisscross
this great country
and live as a nomad
in a motor home. As
the Territory was the
only region she had
not left a footprint
this was where she
first headed.
She was stunned to
find Alice Springs
was not like she
imagined. Sherrill
was captivated by
the town and its
rugged
beauty.
When she found the
Hall of Fame Sherrill
says it was like she
had found her
special place and
after three years as
a volunteer she is
now a committee
member. She still has
her dream but for
now she is content
to work as IT
manager at the Hall.
Douglas Brockfield
Doug Brockfield
lives in Milawa,
North East Victoria,
home of Brown Bros
wines, and many
other gourmet food
products. He joined
the Road Transport
Hall of Fame as a
member 16 years ago
and has visited many times. Doug has been
self employed in a small business for over
40 years. He started work as a stock and
station agent and later went on to become
a livestock buyer for JC Hutton
For last 20 years has worked in the
advertising for new Doug has a great love
of Australian heritage and has been
involved with both the QANTAS Founders
Museum, and the Stockman’s Hall of Fame
in Longreach and an ambassador for the
Year of the Outback in 2002. Doug has a
passionate interest in all things transport
and considers himself most privileged to
have known the Tom Kruse and Kurt
Johannsen personally.
Ned Amezdroz
Ned Amezdroz was
just 17 years old
when he joined his
fathers cream carrying business in
Colac back in 1940
and has spent his
working life with the
company in number
of different roles over the next 60 year period. He started out “operating a broom”
Ned and his brother Bill, took over the reigns
of the business in 1960 following the death
of their father, Reg. The business went on
to become one of the leading carriers in the
Western Victoria district with depots and
in capital cities and regional centres. The
business today operates over 250 trucks.
Ned has been an active committee member
of both the Victorian Road Transport
Association, the Australian Brick Assoc. .
In recent years Ned has handed the reigns
of the business over to his son Brett and
spends his time as “company ambassador”
and volunteering here at the Hall of Fame.
Previous Shell Rimula Wall of Fame inductee
Greg Finnen flanked by Shell’s Penny Tastula
and our Senior volunteer Annette Bateson.
Its all go at the National Road Transport
Hall of Fame as the staff and volunteers
prepare themselves for yet another
successful reunion for 2012.
ReUnion 2012 will be held from the 23rd to
26th August 2012 inclusive and will this year
including several exciting new events
including Truckin’ Life’s Truckie’s day and
their prestigious Rig of the Year
presentation. CEO Liz Martin said she was
really excited to be working with Bruce
Honeywill and the team at Truckin’ Life.
“Bruce himself is an icon of the industry
and his work with the Rig of the Year over a
great period of time is to be commended.”
Liz said their was the usual great line-up of
worthy recipients into the Shell Rimula Wall
of Fame and congratulated the Shell
Company of Australia for their ongoing
magnificent contribution to preserving the
trials and tribulations of our road transport
pioneers for future generations.
“Our ReUnion is not just about preserving
the industry’s heritage and increasing
community awareness about the
significance of road transport, its about
honouring those many sponsors that come
on board every year to help us achieve this.”
Thank you to our major sponsors
OLd
ghAN
trAiN
Transmission
6
Solar
Lighting
Grant
for our
Grounds
thiNK greeN
In the Workshop
The Road Transport Historical Society Inc.
10 year Environment Program (2005 to
2015) lists, as one of its objectives for 2011/
12, the replacement of electric lights
throughout our museum grounds with solar powered alternatives. Existing lighting
throughout grounds are 1960s style
Optima street lighting fitted with 250 watt
Sylvania gas filled bulbs which are both
energy cumbersome and expensive to
operate. It is our plan to gradually replace
these over a two year period.
Existing lighting throughout grounds are
1960s style Optima street lighting fitted with
250 watt Sylvania gas filled bulbs which
are both energy cumbersome and expensive
to operate. It is our plan to gradually replace
these over a two year period.
John (Big Bad) Lindsley is handy for all sorts of
jobs in the workshop. Here he is working on a
head gasket for our little hyster forklift.
Thanks to the efforts of many, several working
bees at Ewaninga have the facility looking clean
and tidy ready for visitors and campers.
Thanks to the success of our application
to Tourism NT’s Environment Enhancement
Fund Program we have been able to
implement this initiative with a grant of
$11,810.70 for installation of solar lighting
throughout the grounds including in the
Cameleers Garden at the Ghan Legends
Museum, Stuarts Bush Kitchen and other
areas of our facility. After much research
chose to go with a Quantum TFLED1087
LED 30 Watt Floodlight with an IP65
qualification for outdoor applications.
Apart from the obvious benefits of the light
being environmentally friendly with no lead,
hydragyrum or other contaminants that
contribute to air pollutants and reduction
in energy costs other advantages to the
TFLED1087 LED Light include the fact that
it can be building mounted or pole mounted
and emits high brightness lighting with
high performance heat dissipation.
The lights have a life span of 50,000 hours
saving more than 70% compared with our
old traditional sodium lights. Additionally,
there is no ill glare, abrupt or frequent
flashes and no delay in reaching normal
light capacity. Illuminance area is 10 metres
and intelligently perceives light intensity
turning on automatically at dusk and off
automatically at daylight although the
control panel allows it to be set at other
times if required. The Quantum LED Flood
Light is encased in Aluminium Alloy with
Outdoor Rating of IP65 and a Single
Bridgelux SMD LED light source and the
solar panels are SFAP130P6 130 Watt Blue
enabling us to connect a secondary light
at a later date when we can afford it.
Other initiatives recently introduced better
usage of grey water and solar hot water in
the main amenities and the Old Ghan kitchen
Ewaninga Cottage
Considerable effort has been put into
Ewaninga Fettlers Cottage over the past six
months. Ewaninga is located 23 kilometres
from our museum at the end of the Old Ghan
line. We assumed responsibility for it when
we took over the Old Ghan five years ago
but haven’t had the resources to do
anything with it until recently when Debi
Robinson put her hand up to manage the
re-development. Any assistance with
photographs or memorabilia relating to
fettlers or train crew can be sent to us on
email info@roadtransporthall.com
John (Big Bad) Lindsley and John (JD) Dods fit
the newly reconditioned engine into our 1927
‘Kev the Chev’. Its almost ready to go again
thanks to the efforts of David Kent who undertook most of the mechanical work in his Port
Pirie Workshops
John and Dallas have been busy building tank
stands for water tanks at Ewaninga Fettlers
Cottage so we can have running water.
Our prized three wheeled Scammell Scarab is
looking good and its restoration almost done.
This unit was used by Margatich on the Adelaide
Wharf and will be painted back up in that livery.
Work is just about to start on repairing the trailer.
Volunteers Clancy, Joanne, Desley and Debi
survey the site behind the Ewaninga Fettlers
Cottage where the care-taker compound will be
erected. Debi Robinson has now moved to
Ewaninga to manage its development.
Transmission
Miniature Railway
Work is well underway for installation of
our new miniature railway around the Old
Ghan museum thanks to the efforts of
David Kent and Phil Cullen particularly.
The route has been selected and surveyed
and preliminary earthworks are currently
being undertaken. Phil Cullen has
constructed the tracks and once the
earthworks are complete we can join it all
up. Stage #1 will give us 300 metres
afterwhich we will go onto Stage #2 which
will be another 300 metres. Once complete
we will have around 1.5 kilometres of track
around the facility which will be used for
special events and functions and double
as a people mover around our huge facility.
Any-one with any knowledge or
infrastructure is invited to contact Liz
Martin - email info@roadtransporthall.com
In the Grounds
****
7
New PPE/Tool Room
Liz Martin has been busy setting up a new
PPE / Tool Room in the museum. Previously
this had been managed through the
souvenir shop but the area was too small
and we needed the office space. So, out
went the library (which had also outgrown
its space) and in went the tools,
consumables and Personal Protection
Equipment all essential to project
management throughout the precinct.
Thanks to David, Annette, Phil, Bruce and
Kel for assisting Liz with this massive job.
Greg Whitford works fixing the eaves of our
current ‘Home for Bertha” shed which will soon
become our bus & coach museum when the
roadtrains are relocated to the Trucks In Action
building. We have eight buses ready to go in.
Annette took responsibility for setting up the
‘sharps cabinet’ with drill bits, saw blades,
stanley knives, axes and tommy hawks etc.
Phil Cullen, pictured with wife Sue, has been
busy assembling 300 metres of 7-1/4” railway
line fitting over 1200 recycled plastic sleepers.
The track is now ready to lay.
The site being prepared for construction of the
new Trucks In Action shed. Special thanks to
Brian Blakeman who surveyed the site for us, to
Gary Burns who properly located the gas
energy easement and to Patrick Brown (the
builder) for his expansive knowledge and help.
Kel Davis took on the task of bringing in the
many buckets of bolts,nuts, nails and screws in
from all around the facility and sorting them.
Thankyou to Greg Whitford who picked our
train and first carriage up from Port Pirie and
delivered it to Alice Springs for us in a trailer.
With such major works going on all around the
grounds the tough job of rock moving usually
goes to the youngest of the volunteers. Special
thanks to Dallas Baldock who is always at the
ready to help with any activity.
Taking a well earned break at the Old Ghan Tea
Rooms are Mick Clausen, John Dods (recently
deceased) and Debi Robinson.
Thanks to
George the
Goanna, a
long term
resident,
who does
his best to
keep rats
snakes and
mice away.
Sue Cullen on duty in the Old Ghan Tea Rooms
is always at the ready to make a good cuppa.
8
Transmission
Foden Trucks: The Australian Connection
There is no doubt that Foden trucks, not too long ago, were the undisputed kings of the
road in Australia; certainly throughout the outback, in heavy applications and on long
distance hauls all around the country. This claim could, of course, in those days be
contested collectively by the might of British Leyland and the many other marques of the
day available in Australia’s highly competitive truck market.
There is much conflicting data about Foden ‘out there’. Any-one with additional information or
photos of Australian Fodens is invited to send them to Liz Martin on info@roadtransporthall.com.
The Australian Foden range, in many
instances, bore little resemblance to their
counterparts in England where they were
manufactured for both the English
domestic and Commonwealth export
markets in Sandbach near Cheshire. The
big British marques of the day,
Thornycroft, AEC, Albion, Leyland and
Foden (along with several notable others)
are credited with opening up much this
country. For a time after WWII the ‘pommy
trucks’ ran side by side with the big ex-US
American marques that had entered
Australia during with the Allied Forces.
As legendary as the Diamond Ts, Federals
and the many other (mainly US
manufactured) trucks were at the time, few
could compete with Foden and its legendary
Gardner engine as time wore on. As the exUS Army fleet wore out in the decade after
the war there was a substantial increase in
British made trucks on Australia’s
highways. In an effort to kick start their post
war economy the British Government did
everything they could to increase export to
other countries of the Commonwealth.
Subsequently English trucks saturated
markets in Australia, Rhodesia and Africa
particularly. One reason Fodens were so
popular across many sectors of industry in
Australia was the diversity of the range and
the fact they were available in four, six or
eight wheel configurations. Despite this, by
the late 1960s the English marques were
losing ground fast.
In many ways it was an era of turmoil in
Britain with poor developmental decisions,
mergers and failed take-overs. This created
an opportunity for the American
manufacturers to jump into the Australian
market and reclaim their position. Previous
to WWII the small Americans; Ford, Chev,
GMC rules the road. Now it was Diamonds,
B Model Macks and International Rs. The
Americans had been far more advanced in
engine technology and operators swapped
their allegiance to the “Mother Country” in
favour of higher horsepower, increased
speed, better pulling power and improved
fuel efficiency.
While Gardner engine had served Foden
operators well in the past it just didn’t cut
compared to the option of having a
Cummins HH220 (and later 250) installed.
Most English marques were reluctant to go
to the way of the Americans. They assumed
that if a truck was suitable for the English
domestic market it was good enough for
the export market. It was to spell the death
knell for them in Australia. However, for a
time Foden fitted its trucks with a 250hp
Cummins engine and this was popular with
heavy vehicle operators.
c
By Liz Martin
All or part of this article may be reproduced
with credit and by-line to the author.
C
Wally Braitling from Mt.Denison Station (near Alice Springs) purchased this FE Foden
new in 1956. He remembers it was a “good unit”. He sold the trailers to Noel Buntine
and the truck went back east to the O’Neil family to work in the NSW quarries.
Foden’s 8 x 4 Tilt Cab truck was trialled by Readymix Quarries Perth in the late 1970s.
The “Big Fodens” as they were nick-named
in the Northern Territory where they were
used in roadtrain configuration, offered a
100-ton gross weight which far exceeded
anything else available in either the
American or British marques. It guaranteed
Foden would remain the undisputed king
of the heavy hauliers for a time yet.
The later release of the Universal Series S95
in the late 1970s was meant to reclaim
Foden’s market share in Australia. The
export Foden S95 4x2 COE, fitted with a
Cummins NTCE290 diesel and Fuller nine
speed transmission was slightly different
to its British domestic counterpart including
a less complicated braking system but didn’t
make it in Australia. Diesel Motors in Perth
at the time were assembling what they called
the tilt cab 8x4 Fleetmaster fitted with a
Cummins NTCE 290 high torque engine
which was trialed by Readymix Concrete in
their Perth operation. It grossed 52 tonnes
under special permit. The Americans and
European marques had a firm foothold by
then and weren’t letting go. It certainly
worked to Foden’s advantage that its
Australia distributor, Diesel Motors Pty
Ltd, was also a major user of the product in
their own businesses most of which
required tough trucks for a tough job.
The O’Neil family, under leadership of Les
O’Neil, owned Diesel Motors Ltd who
assembled and sold Foden trucks from Perth
to Sydney and all points in between
including in Alice Springs where Les’s son
Denis owned and operated Fleet Owners.
Fleet Owners was started in 1954 with two
Foden-hauled roadtrains. It soon became
the major shareholder in the Territory
Transport Association (later to become the
well known Co-ord Transport). The Territory
Transport Association had initially been
formed to better manage freight
connections and linehaul to and from the
Alice Springs railhead under contract with
Commonwealth Railways.
Fleet Owners had acquired one 10% share
initially but within a few years owned five
of the ten shares with the other five 10%
interests held at that time by D.R. Baldock,
Tottey Transport, Buntine Roadways, TC
Transport and D&N Transport. Obviously
O’Neil’s fleet was predominantly Fodens
and it was their reliability in the Territory
that helped build their reputation for heavy
outback work. The Fodens performed so
well on the long outback hauls that not only
did other TTA / Co-ord stake-holders
operate them but companies who operated
in competition to them did also.
Transmission
Foden Trucks: The Australian Connection
One Foden operator whose big rig attracted
a lot of attention was Buster Powell who
operated a 1948 heavy duty twin steer in
Western Australia throughout the 1950s
and 60s. This truck did much to enhance
Foden’s hardy reputation for durability and
reliability in the Outback albeit, in its final
form, it was far from original. Powell had
purchased the Foden new with the
intention of carting wheat and flour but was
caught out when the WA Government
introduced restrictive legislation preventing
road transport operators from competing
with rail. Powell was left with plenty of debt
and few work prospects.
The most notable of these would probably
be Ted Stiles from Outback Transport
(above) who raged an ongoing war over
freight and freight rates with the Territory
Transport Association over many years. As
well as Diesel Motors, the O’Neil family also
had extensive interests in the quarrying
industry. Family patriarch John O’Neil
(Denis’s grandfather) had established
White Rock Quarries in Western Australia.
Their business portfolio expanded
considerably over the years with ownership
of several iconic Australian businesses
including Bluestone Quarries, Australian
Blue Metal, Hymix construction materials
and more recently Readymix, Gunlake and
Rollers Australia. The hallmark for early
transportation needs in all these
businesses was of course the Foden truck.
Diesel Motors dabbled in other marques
including Renault, Mercedes Benz and at
one stage, Peterbilt. In partnership with
American Bob Larkin, Les O’Neil imported
ten Peterbilts into the country using his
own interstate transport company,
Mainline, to promote Peterbilt in much the
same way Co-ord pushed the Foden
Marque. The venture was abandoned after
the USA based PACCAR organisation,
owner of Peterbilt, made its historical
decision to promote the Kenworth marque
in Australia in preference to Peterbilt. This
was following Ed Cameron’s now famous
importation of the legendary S1 series. This
is one of the reasons why Fleet owners
chose to upgrade their Foden fleet to Mack
and didn’t continue with Peterbilt or
Kenworth as many had expected them too.
Mining was taking off in the Pilbara region
so he moved “up north” to haul manganese
ore as a sub-contractor for DFD Rhodes
(who later went on to construct the
legendary Rhodes Ridley roadtrain). Powell
hauled through bulldust over the 200 mile
corrugated and dusty dirt track between
Port Hedland and the Woody Woody mine
for the next ten years. He recalled the rates
were okay but the roads were hell. Powell
decided that he would need to pull in
roadtrain configuration if he was to make a
decent living.
The 6WL Gardner engine was swapped for
a more powerful 130hp two stroke GM with
oversized injectors boosting it to 180hp.
Next it was fitted with back to back General
Grant Tank transmissions significantly
increasing the gearing range and finally, a
bigger radiator was installed. Overheating
was a major problem in the searing hot
summers of the Pilbara so Powell fitted his
radiator with a header tank made from two
44 gallon drums. Buster Powell used this
unit hauling up to 53 ton of manganese ore
on two trips a week over what can only be
described as one of the worst roads in
Australia. Later he operated the Mt
Prophecy Mine at Marble Bar with what he
called his “side-kick”, the Foden.
After Buster Powell died in 1985, his son
Eddie retrieved the truck and took it to his
farm in Western Australia where, hopefully,
it awaits restoration one day in the future.
Ben Powell, pictured with his truck, was
typical of the ingenuity that built the built
the Australian trucking industry.
9
in the museum
Our Foden awaiting restoration
One of Co-ord Transports original
Fodens (above) is on display in the
National Road Transport Hall of Fame. It
was donated by Peter Severin from Curtin
Springs Station and was retrieved for the
museum by the Australian Army who
sent a recovery team into the desert
400klms south of Alice Springs to collect
the vehicle from where it had been
abandoned twenty years earlier near Mt.
Conner. This tray truck was used on the
Alice Springs to Darwin run usually
towing two or three trailers behind and
is powered by an eight cylinder Gardner.
It is typical of the models exported to
Australia in that era complete with
exposed radiator, big bullbar and S20
series integrated visor. In later years Coord used twin steer Fodens with power
assist on the steering for their roadtrain
work. Most had a 12 speed epicyclic
gearbox with a main stick and a preselector auxiliary operated either by
second lever or air operated switch on
the dash. This particular truck has been
nick-named “The Mighty Quinn” in
honour of Frank Quinn who used to drive
it. On its arrival at the museum the name
could just be made out. It had been
crudely brush painted across the top of
the radiator by paintbrush in a much
faded and barely legible scrawl.
One well known Co-ord partner was Stan
Cawood, son of the Northern Territory
Government Resident (Administrator) in
Alice Springs and whom had earlier, in
1929, taken part in the expedition that
retrieved the bodies of Keith Anderson
and Bob Hitchcock who had died of thirst
when their aeroplane, the ill fated
Kookaburra, crashed near Wave Hill.
(Yes, the same Keith Anderson who was
a partner in Gascoyne Trading Co). Stan
Cawood’s son Ian was Chair of the Hall
of Fame steering committee back in 1992
when our museum was just an idea.
One of Stan Cawoods Fodens
10
Transmission
Foden Trucks: The Australian Connection
There were many iconic road transport businesses using Foden in their operations
throughout Western Australia. The west was won on the trials and tribulations of the
trucking industry and Foden was certainly a major part of that legend.
Vince Ridolfo
Bell Brothers
ThePhotograph
West Australian
The Bell(Rags)
Brothers company had been
by based
SteveRidolfo
MorrisGroup
Photography
of Companies is one of the largest in the started in 1937 by Scottish immigrant David
West with over 50 trucks and 150 items of Bell and his brothers Robert and Alexander.
other associated plant and equipment. Few Their father, William Bell, had operated a
realise this successful business had its start cartage business in Guilford area with two
with an old utility and a secondhand FG horses and two drays While it was primarily
Foden. Vince and Domenica Ridolfo established as a cartage company Bell’s
migrated to Australia from Italy in the early were responsible for upgrading and
1950s looking for a better life. The young building many airfields all through WA
couple went picking grapes until they could during WWII with their earthmoving
afford a utility which was then traded, in equipment.
1962, on a second hand FG Foden.
Bell Brothers grew rapidly after the war and
Vince cut and hauled timber for the State by 1959 dominated heavy haulage in
Electricity Commission for over twenty Western Australia having diversified their
years and credited the reliability of the old business into to include heavy haulage and
Foden with giving him his start in business. earthmoving. This included hauling raw
As a matter of interest Vince and Domenica materials into the Fremantle docks for which
also bought the first Peterbilt in Western the Fodens proved ideal. In later years Bell’s
Australia (and second into the country) in would become the first organisation to
1963 and it remains the pride and joy of that import the ERF marque into WA. Bell
organisation to this day. Unfortunately they Brothers massive trucking empire was
have not been able to track the Foden down. eventually sold out to Holmes a’ Court.
in the museum
Gordon Cupper
Another Foden in the Hall of Fame
collection is a 1952 FG single drive
powered by a six cylinder Gardner. It was
donated to the National Road Transport
hall of Fame by Gordon Cupper of
Mildura who used it in his carrying
business in Merbein; a large
horticultural, dried fruit and wine district
in country Victoria. Cupper ran regularly
between Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane
and Adelaide and pioneered the use of
the first semi trailer unit in the area. This
particular truck usually carried dried fruit
to the railhead in Hay and clay or timber
to and from Mt. Gambier. The FG is
immaculately restored and in good
running order thanks to the magnificent
effort of Ange Robi and his team at GTS
Freight Management Systems in Mildura
who sponsored the restoration.
Gascoyne Trading
One of those historic companies was the
Gascoyne Trading Co. whose deep red fleet
ran the length and breadth of the west coast
for many years through many owners
carting general, wool, perishables and just
about anything and everything. The
Gascoyne company had its origins when
aviators Charles Kingsford Smith and Keith
Anderson purchased Carlins Garage in
Carnavon (WA) and set up a small carrying
business in 1924. The idea was to raise
enough money to purchase an aeroplane.
Gascoynes tendered for and won a lucrative
mail contract almost immediately they
started operating. Carting mail through the
outback was to stay a primary part of the
business for most of its duration. Gascoynes
also hauled general goods and perishables
all around outback Western Australia.
Len Houlahan
Len Houlahan from Attadale
also operated an impressive
fleet of trucks throughout
the 1950s and 60s in WA
including several Foden
trucks. The family business,
Houlahan Services, had
been started by his father
and was sold off to Steel
Brothers of England in 1969.
Arthur H Gillott and Sons
The weekly trip to Port Hedland from Perth
went via Meekatharra, Nullagine, and
Marble Bar covering an amazing 2,500 miles
per round trip. Gascoyne’s Fodens had
Royal Mail blazened in capital letters under
the windscreen. Old Gascoyne Fodens are
usually easily identified by a spotlight
mounted above the centre bar of the split
windscreen. Gascoyne went on to become
part of the Wesfarmers conglomerate.
There were not many early transport
operators in Australia who didn’t have a
Foden in their fleet at one stage or
another. Arthur H Gillott and Sons
operated a fleet of both table top and
semi-trailers on interstate runs. The
trucks usually traveled regularly between
Brisbane and Sydney twice a week but
also hauled to remote mining sites in the
Northern Territory and to Mary Kathleen
and Mt Isa in Queensland.
This was at a time when outback roads
were still rough and unmade and the
drivers had to contend with ploughing
through mud and crossing flooded creeks
to deliver their loads. One of Gillott’s
Fodens, a superbly restored FG bogie
drive with double hub reduction and a
Foden 12 speed transmission is proudly
displayed in the National Road Transport
Hall of Fame. Called “Skip Along” it was
No#7 in the Gillott Fleet.
Transmission
Foden Trucks: The Australian Connection
11
Hoppy Freeman
In the south, and all along the eastern seaboard into the harsh interior the Foden marquee
was just as prolific as it was in Western Australia and the Northern Territory where
much of its reputation was built. Fodens were found in just about every sector of industry.
Cedric Abood
Another Australian transport operator well
known for their Foden fleet was Sydney
based Aboods Transport. Aboods was
operated by four Lebanese brothers,
Cedric, Brian, John and Harry. They drove
many trucks over the years including some
impressive looking Fodens, however, it is
their modified Foden affectionately dubbed
“Miss Rochelle” (so named for Cedric’s
daughter) that has gained most fame.
Hoppy Freeman operated this Foden for
Ben Powell, Speedwell Transit. Powered
by a 196 Golden Eagle Rolls Royce it is
believed to be one of only five that ever
came into in Australia.
Cedric Abood modified this 1965 S21 by
exchanging the cab to that of a 1966
Kenworth K100, fitting a 340hp Rolls Royce
MkIII diesel engine, Fuller transmission,
Hendrickson suspension and Eaton axles.
This unusual looking hybrid still attracts
much attention and is referred to as a
“Fodsworth”. It can often be found at truck
shows where it is displayed by the Abood
family in memory of Cedric Abood who was
renowned for his ability to rebuild his fleet
from the ground up using whatever
components he had available. Abood’s fleet
were often subject to repowering and
refitting with unrelated engines, chassis,
cabs and drive-lines.
Aboods built one of the most iconic
transport companies in Australia operating
an impressive fleet of other marques
including standard Fodens and
Thornycrofts all done up in the colourful
company livery and usually named after the
founders children. Two Abood Fodens above
Big Jack O’Day
Check out the coupling on this unit
Martin Transport
Legendary ‘South Road Runner’ Big Jack
O’Day also cut his teeth on Foden. A
journalist once described him as “six foot
tall and strong as a Territory bull” and with
the type of work he did he had to be. Jack’s
career as an owner -operator started in 1955
with the purchase of a Foden truck fitted
with a 6LX 150hp Gardner engine.
Subcontracting to Kennelly’s Transport he
did rig shifts all over the country before
doing his first trip up the Old South Road
(Stuart Highway) in 1959 carting general
north to Darwin and scrap metal south to
Adelaide. This was a run Jack O’Day went
on to do for over twenty five years. So
isolated was the track between Darwin and
Adelaide in those days people often
referred to it as “Jack’s Road.”
Martin Transport of Melbourne operated
several Fodens. These were used on all
manner of haulage throughout Victoria.
Frank Sheppard
Most operators preferred to operate out of
the railhead in Alice Springs but Jack ran
the South Road in its entirety eventually
initiating the first road freight freezer service
between Adelaide and Alice Springs. Much
to the distress of Commonwealth Railways
who tried to monopolise freight into the
Northern Territory, it was successful and
many others followed suit.
What better way to move freight than Speed it Thru Spry
Sprys Transport Service in Griffith, NSW, carted wine, produce and related product
between states and were emblazoned with the logo “Speed it thru Spry”
Sheppard’s Wine Tankers used Fodens
to haul their tankers all throughout the
wine regions of Australia and in one
instance, narrowly avoided legal action
after an accidental “wine spill” on the
side of the road managed to stupefy the
local dairy farmer’s cows for a few days.
12
Transmission
Foden Trucks: The Australian Connection - Where it all began
As illustrious as Foden’s history in
Australia is, the Foden story actually
started a good hundred years earlier on
the other side of the world. The story begins
with the birth of Edwin Foden (1841-1911)
in Smallwood near Sandbach, Cheshire
(England). He was the fourth child of the
local grocer. Edwin left school at the age of
13 to become the local postboy before
undertaking an apprenticeship as an iron
founder at the local agricultural
engineering firm of Plant and Hancock
which had been founded in 1856.
He later took a job at the Crewe Railway
Workshops before returning to Plant and
Hancock where at the young age of 19 he
was made shop foreman. Edwin Foden
enjoyed a good relationship with his
employer George Hancock and for many
years lived next door to him. By the time he
was 25 years old Edwin Foden was a partner
in the business which was then re-named
Hancock and Foden.
When George Hancock retired in 1887 Edwin
Foden took over the business completely
renaming it Edwin Foden Sons & Co. He
had two sons Edwin Richard (ER) and
William (Billy). The business produced
heavy duty industrial engines, small
stationary steam engines and agricultural
traction engines. Foden had spent a lot of
time and effort in earlier years perfecting
his compound traction engine and this later
proved invaluable to the development of
the steam lorry. In 1896 the British
Government reluctantly eased many of its
restrictions on road transport. Automobiles
under three tons could now travel at speeds
up to 12 m.p.h. (19 klm/h) without a red flag
and there was a renewed surge of interest
from all sorts of industry.
Foden felt the time was right to expand his
range and produced four prototype
wagons; each one more refined than the
other. The most successful of the four had
the engine mounted horizontally. Taking up
only half the length the engine would have
ordinarily done, the drive chain from the
countershaft to the rear axle had to be
longer and heavier producing a hardier
vehicle. In 1901 Foden to built a three ton
self propelled wagon for the British War
Office trials. With a 500 pound prize and
the lure of a military contract competition
was fierce and there was much controversy
over whether the Thornycroft or Foden
wagon was the better of the two steam
wagons put over through the arduous trial.
Research shows conflicting reports
however Foden’s model formed the basis
for his highly successful line of vehicles
produced over the next thirty years.
Most Foden steam lorries were overtype
but some undertypes were also produced.
Edwin Foden died in 1911 leaving the
business to his family. Foden Limited, as it
was by then, supplied steam wagons and
traction engines to the war effort in WW1.
William Foden retired in 1924 and moved to
Australia. With unrest in the family
company he moved back to England.
In 1926 he took over as Managing Director
of Foden. Edwin’s son, Edwin Richard, (ER)
could see by then that the future of self
propulsion and the automobile lay in diesel
power. There are different accounts as to
how and why Edwin Richard ended up
leaving the family business in 1932 but the
most common thought is that he was sick
of the bitter wrangling over the future
direction of the business and decided to
retire early. Edwin Richard was 62 at the
time and had spent his entire working life at
Foden. Edwin Richard’s son Dennis also
worked for the family business. He was
distressed about what had happened and
while he couldn’t afford to leave Foden
himself at that point he wasn’t prepared to
accept that his father had been ousted from
the business his grandfather started.
The idea for the ERF marque stirred in
Dennis. The immediate Foden family was
rallied and collectively they managed to
raise sufficient cash and resources to start
the ERF business. This was a tumultuous
period for Foden with several other senior
staff either being fired or retiring. These
included George Faulkener, (related to
Dennis by marriage) and Ernest Sherratt
who went to ERF. Dennis managed to
persuade Edwin Richard Foden to come out
of retirement and head up the new Foden
family business. For obvious legal reasons
the Foden name could not be used in the
new entity but Dennis was determined his
father’s contribution to the industry should
not be lost in the transition. He called the
new business ‘ERF’ using his father’s
initials – Edwin Richard Foden.
Within a couple of years the original Foden
company conceded that Edwin Richard
Foden’s intuition had indeed been right and
the future of commercial vehicles was in
diesel powered vehicles. Manufacture
changed direction almost immediately with
steam vehicle production gradually easing
off until it ceased completely in 1934.
Foden’s first diesel was produced in 1931
with considerable input from Both Edwin
Richard and Denis Foden. It is now
displayed in a British museum.
After concentrating on production for the
military in WWII Foden again began
producing vehicles for the civilian market.
Most were simply the pre-war models with
some basic improvements but a new bus
chassis was released in 1946. In 1948 the
new EF and FG range was introduced along
with Foden’s FD6 two stroke engine.
This engine was used in the heavier models
such as the S18 FE6/15 rigid eight wheeler.
By 1950 Foden had released a re-engined
model pre-dating Leyland’s model by about
seven years. The completely new FE and
FG lorry ranges were introduced in 1948,
along with the new Foden FD6 two-stroke
diesel engine, which became the standard
engine for certain Foden heavy lorry models,
such as the S18 FE6/15 Rigid Eight-Wheeler.
The same truck fitted with a Gardner 6LWengine was the S18 FG6/15. Both of these
engines were also used in Foden motorcoaches and buses. By 1956 air brakes and
power steering were available throughout
the Foden range and before long Foden
buyers could choose from several alternate
engines including Fodens own four and six
cylinders and a range of Cummins, Gardner
and Rolls Royce engines.
In 1958 Foden introduced a lightweight
glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) in its cab
production and by 1962 were manufacturing
the first mass-produced tilting cab in
Britain. The first truck released with the GRP
cab was the distinctive S21 model which
was nicknamed the ‘Mickey Mouse’ cab by
some. It was later also dubbed ‘Spaceship
Sputnik’. S21 Cab production continued
until 1969. There are still quite a few S series
cabbed Fodens in Australia that are fitted
with the “export” version of the S21 including an extension to the roof making a
combined sun visor and ventilation intake.
Foden promoted the glass-fibre cab as being
both robust and handsome and offering
great visibility, rust resistance and a weight
saving of 1-1/2 cwts.
In 1964 a new model was introduced to
compete in the 32 ton market. More than
75% of heavy chassis sold in Britain in the
following years were tractor prime-mover
units. This was due in part to legislative
changes within the construction industry
that favoured the use of articulation. A new
factory was built adjacent to the existing
Foden works but the truck market
continued to be depressed and sales
slowed considerably. Foden ran into
financial trouble in the 1970s and received
a bailout from then Prime-Minister Harold
Wilson. Foden struggled on in an uncertain
market and did not recover somewhat when
it won a Military contract in 1978.
It was not enough and by 1980 Foden was
in receivership and was acquired by
American giant PACCAR . PACCAR
followed up with a take-over of Leyland in
1998 heralding the end of production for
the independent Foden range. DAF Trucks,
which had earlier been acquired by
PACCAR in 1996, were given preference
and in order to retain loyal Foden customers
were rebadged as being Foden trucks.
These were offered with the option of
Caterpillar, Detroit Diesel or Cummins ISMe
engines. PACCAR continue to provide
aftermarket support for Foden throughout
the UK with DAFaid providing Foden
operators roadside assistance. In 2005
PACCAR announced Foden production
would cease permanently the next year.
Transmission
Foden Trucks: The Australian Connection
Co-ord Transport: Legendary Foden roadtrains
13
Restored Fodens
Despite disappearing from our highways
and byways many years ago the Foden
marque has a dedicated following of
enthusiasts in Australia. Many make the
trip to trucking festivals and open days
around the country including to Alice
Springs in the heart of Australia for its
truckie reunions to promote the marque.
Darwin’s FG Refueller
Co-ord Transports huge roadtrains in the Territory did much to enhance Foden’s reputation
for heavy haulage. This body and three Co-ord Transport Foden roadtrain is loaded with
Rudders cargotainers and general bound for Darwin from the Alice Springs Rail Terminal.
Thomas National Transport
TNT is the story of three men who would
go on to build up one of the largest transport
operations in the world. Ken Thomas, Geoff
Hammond and Ken Smith were reportedly
“not too clued up” to running a roadfreight
business, but their other attributes, such
as enterprise, good judgment a gambling
spirit and the sheer determination to get the
job done paid off. TNT have come a long
way since the day Fodens ruled their fleet.
The Darwin Motor Vehicle Enthusiasts
Club has restored an early 1950s FG
Foden re-fueler which is used regularly
for club activities. Powered by a six
cylinder Gardner engine the unit was
originally owned by Air BP and was used
to refuel both civilian and military aircraft
at Darwin Airport.
Frank Latore’s 1965 S21
The driver of this rig is Tommy Peterson
and we think the photo was taken in WA.
Allisons cattle roadtrain operated out of Broken Hill
Kittle Brothers: the Tennant Creek Connection
Kittle Brothers from Tennant Creek NT
operated this Foden between the railheads
in Alice Springs and Larrimah. Len and
brother Geoff had commenced their
business cutting and carting wood and
hand shovelling sand. They also carted
water for Tennant Creek from the Old
Telegraph Station which they sold for 14
shillings per 100 gallons. Len Kittle was a
foundation member of the National Road
Transport Hall of Fame.
Another popular Foden regularly spotted
around Australia at truck functions and
events is Frank Latorre’s 1965 twin steer
S21. Frank initially purchased this now
immaculately restored truck in neglected
condition from a Shepparton wrecker in
1982. After a few repairs he used it to
cart tomatoes for the next seven years
and later Frank and his beloved Foden
worked in a Boral Quarry dumping
aggregate for another twenty years. In
2010 Frank retired himself and the truck
now spending his time displaying it a
truck shows and club events.
In Memory of the last Foden Produced
The last Foden was produced by PACCAR in July 2006, bringing an
end to 150 years of Foden ,followed their decision to drop the marque
in favour of producing DAF badged Leylands.
Edwin Foden
The final vehicle to roll off the production line was a Rigid 8x4 which
was delivered straight to the nearby British Commercial Vehicle
Museum where it is preserved for future generations in testament of
four generations of the Foden family’s contribution to road transport.
Warrick Bryces partially restored Foden
Transmission
14
WANted
By
phOtOS
These photos
are from the
Williamson
Collection
ONe OF
Mack Owners and
Enthusiasts are
invited to send
photos in for our
growing Mack
Truck
Photographic
Collection.
Call Liz Martin
0429 201 549
Graeme Williamson Collection
Thank you to Graeme and Clare
Williamson and son Stephen for the
recent donation of their huge
collection of photographs and a very
impressive looking water jet granite
cutting of the Mack logo for display
in the Mack Museum. Born in Colac,
western Victoria in 1942, Graeme
is a fifty plus year veteran of the road
transport industry having started in
the family business of KE Black and
Sons in the Western District of
Victoria at just 15 years of age.
As a young teenager Graeme developed his truck driving skills in
the paddocks surrounding his home and at 15 began working in
the family’s business, KE Black & Sons. The business specialised
in moving entire houses and other heavy haulage on customised
trailers throughout the Western District of Victoria and beyond in
a variety of trucks including NR, B61 and R model Macks. During
the 1960s Graeme operated a brand new Mack B61 with a low
loader and semi trailer. Having the only low loader in the region at
this time, the business secured much work moving large
earthmoving equipment for land clearing and development
associated with the Heytesbury Settlement. Graeme also carted
telephone poles to install the first telephone line connections into
coastal towns along the Great Ocean Road and shifted earthmoving
machinery mainly in the Lake Cargelligo area.
The work was not easy, not only were the loads challenging but
many of the locations were isolated and off road and the conditions
were often wet and treacherous presenting additional challenges.
In the 1980s the Mack B61 was traded in on a Mack R600 and
carried local timber, bricks and machinery. Graeme, with his wife
Clare, formed their own business, Black’s Heavy Haulage, around
this time and purchased a mobile crane with a 10 ton lifting capacity
to complement the operations. This was the largest crane in the
district at this time and demand for its services was hectic.
Transmission
‘Piss Poor’ ‘Saved by the Bell’ and other
interesting origins from the 1500s
There’s something about old
wives tales and old adages
that make you wonder about
their origins. There’s some
perfectly logical explanations to many of
the sayings and adages we still use today....
For example, where did the term “Piss Poor”
come from? Back in the 1500s they used
urine to tan animal skins, so families used
to all pee in a pot, once it was full it was
taken and sold to the local tannery. If you
had to do this to survive you were “Piss
Poor”. Worse than that, if you were really
poor and couldn’t even afford to buy a pot
you “didn’t have a pot to piss in” and were
considered the lowest of the low.
Here are some other facts about the 1500’s
Most people got married in June because
they took their yearly bath in May and still
smelled pretty good by June. However,
since they were starting to smell, brides
carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the
body odor. Hence the custom today of
carrying a bouquet when getting married.
Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot
water. The man of the house had the
privilege of the nice clean water, followed
by his sons and other men. After that came
the women and children and last of all the
babies. By then the water was so dirty you
could actually lose someone in it. Hence
the saying, “Don’t throw the baby out with
the bath water!”
Houses had thatched roofs-thick strawpiled high, with no wood underneath. It was
the only place for animals to get warm, so
all the cats, dogs and other small animals
(mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained
it became slippery and the animals would
slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying,
“It’s raining cats and dogs.” There was
nothing to stop things from falling into the
house. This posed a real problem in the
could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence,
a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over
the top afforded some protection. That’s
how canopy beds came into existence.
The floor was dirt -only the wealthy had
something other than dirt. Hence the
saying, “dirt poor.” The wealthy had slate
floors that would get slippery in the winter
when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on
the floor to help keep their footing. As the
winter wore on, they added more thresh
until, when you opened the door. It would
all start slipping outside. A piece of wood
was placed in the entrance-way. Hence the
terminology ‘thresh hold’.
In those days people cooked in the kitchen
with a big kettle that always hung over the
fire. Every day they added things to the
pot eating mostly vegetables with little meat.
They would leave the leftovers in the pot
to get cold overnight and then start over
the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it
that had been there for quite a while. This
is where the rhyme: “Peas porridge hot, peas
porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine
days old” had its origins.
Sometimes, if you were lucky you could
obtain pork, which made them people feel
quite special. When visitors came over, they
would hang up their bacon to show it off. It
was a sign of wealth that a man could, “bring
home the bacon”. The man of the house
would cut off a little to share and everyone would sit around and “chew the fat”.
Those with money had plates made of
pewter. Food with high acid content caused
some of the lead to leach into the food,
causing lead poisoning death. This
happened most often with tomatoes, so for
the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were
considered poisonous.
Bread was divided according to status.
Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf,
the family got the middle, and guests got
the top, or the upper crust. Lead cups were
also used to drink ale or whisky. This
combination would sometimes knock the
imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone
walking along the road would take them for
dead and prepare them for burial. They were
laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of
days and the family would gather around
and eat and drink and wait and see if they
would wake up. Hence the custom of
“holding a wake”.
England is old and small and the local folks
often ran out of places to bury people. On
these occasions they would dig up old
coffins, take the bones to a bone-house,
and reuse the grave. When re-opening
these coffins, quiet a few were found to
have scratch marks on the inside of teh lid.
It was realised they had been burying
people alive. Often they would tie a string
to the wrist of the corpse, lead it through
the coffin and up through the ground and
tie it to a bell. Someone would then have to
sit out in the graveyard all night (the
graveyard shift) to listen for the bell; thus,
someone could be, “saved by the bell” or
was “considered a dead ringer”.
s
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15
Are you coming to
ALICE SPRINGS
And do you have your own
caravan or motorhome? Are
you interested in being a
VOLUNTEER
You can volunteer at the
National Road Transport
Hall of Fame or the Old
Ghan Heritage Railway
in exchange for a
FREE CAMP
Trucks
and
Trains
The Road Transport Historical
Society Inc. is a community
based, volunteer organisation
dedicated to the preservation and
presentation of Australia’s unique
transport heritage. It’s huge facility
includes the Kenworth Dealer
Hall of Fame and the famous Old
Ghan Heritage Railway as well
as a meeting and conference
venue and function facility.
No matter what your skill - or
your interest, we have a job to
suit you - stay for a month, or
stay for a year - it’s your choice
The requirement for volunteering
is 20 hours per week per couple or
14 hours per single person. There
are toilets and showers and dogs
are okay if they are contained in
your area. A small power contribution is applicable to all on site.
Museum: 08 89527161
CEO: 0429 201 549
Chair: 0421 771 4 12
Transmission
16
Visit Our New Website
Trucks In Action Shed
www.roadtransporthall.com
We have successfully raised just over
$250,000 for our new Trucks in Action shed
to house our roadtrain collection.
Hall of Fame
Sherrill Ives, armed with two computers, has
been working on developing our website. We
are in the process of a considerable upgrade
thanks to a grant from Tourism NT for $10,000
A message from Sherrill
Visit the above website to read all about
our truckies and transport industry workers
who have been inducted at our Reunions
from the year 2000 to 2011. (There were no
inductions in 2001.) This section of our
website is now up-to-date with only some
minor formatting to be done. It has been a
long and slow job and as far as we know
the information and images are accurate.
We are certain that our readers will find
discrepancies, know more detail and have
more stories and photos to add to these
inductees’ pages. We welcome any updates
and relevant information if it can be verified.
One of the major difficulties in putting
together these pages has been the quality
and size of the images sent for inclusion.
Digitally sent jpeg images are the best but
printed photos are fine if large enough and
of good quality. It is best for us if the images
are sent to us on a data disc.
Often great truck photos are submitted with
a great story. Unfortunately many of the
trucks are not mentioned in the story and
no information about the truck or its
relevance to the inductee is included.
Please feel free to send any additional
information about truck images if you have
any. Remember to include the name and
year of the inductee with your information.
We look forward to meeting and inducting
more deserving truckies on to the famous
wall in 2012 and it would greatly assist with
our presentation of their achievements and
stories if their stories and photos relate and
if images are a good quality.
The website itself will never be finished.
Images and information, news and events
will always come to hand and be added.
There was a Forum for website users to ask
and answer questions and provide stories
and information. Unfortunately it has been
temporarily removed from the site as there
has been inappropriate advertising placed
on it. Steps are being taken to prevent
wrongful use. There is a lot of work still to
do so please be patient, continue to browse
the site and always feel free to make
suggestions and offer information.
The shed will be the biggest yet on site
measuring 58 x 30 metres enabling us to
display our roadtrains in full combination.
Funds to date have allowed us to go ahead
and erect the shed and plans are currently
awaiting approval from the authorities so
that we can start construction. the Building
Fund
Memberships
OldLife
Ghan
Museumfor this building as
Stage #2 will be construction of a concrete
floor which we estimate will cost around
$180,000 to complete. The form is attached.
CURRENT BUILDING FUND
LIFE MEMBERSHIPS
1. A & F Transport - Nick Absolom
2. AME Systems Pty Ltd - Peter Carthew
3. Bendigo Coachlines - George Dawson
4. Barry Stoodley P/L. - Barry Stoodley
5. Alan Brown - Brown & Hurley NSW
6. Robert Brown - Brown & Hurley Qld
7. Jeff Bush - Londonderry, NSW
8. Ed Cameron - Frankston, Victoria
9. David Dawson - Victoria
10. Patrick Day - Days Tspt Oaklands
11. Eaton Pty Ltd - Robert Clarke
12. Gearbox Services QLD
13. Geoff Ferguson - Gosford NSW
14. Gilbert Transport - Peter Gilbert
15. GST Transport - Graham Spargo
16. Hallam Truck Centre - Ron Gysberts
17. Noel & Dianne Heppell - Kilmore, V
18. Holland Hitch Pty Ltd
19. Chris and Sue Howlett - Victoria
20. Jack Hurley - Brown & Hurley NSW
21. Lever Coachlines - D & D Lever
22. Marshall Lethlean Industries
23. Meritor Heavy Vehicle Systems
24. National Transport Insurance
25. Nolans Interstate Tspt - Terry Nolan
26. Phillips Tspt - Ian Phillips (deceased)
27. Pickering Transport Group
28. Porter Haulage - Noel Porter (Colac)
29. Tony Rice - Maiden Gully Victoria
30. Pam and Glen Richter - Tieri QLD
31. Alan Shearer - Wagga Wagga
32. Neville Story - Ulladulla NSW
33. Peter Story - Ulladulla NSW
34. Transport Connection - David Rees
35. Ian & Dawn Lee - Tylden Collection
36. Shell Company of Australia
37. Caterpillar Engines - Doc Holliday
38. Butch & Marg Vigor - Bacchus Marsh
39. Volvo Truck Australia - Jill Brown
40. CJ Bulk Handling - John Abbott
41. James (Jim) Pearson - Pt MacQuarrie
42. Westco Truck Sales - Toowoomba
43. John Camplin - Whyalla Norrie
44. Bruce Holt - Corowa NSW
45. Retractable Tarps - Brendale QLD
46. Barker Trailers - Queensland
47. Glen Cameron Transport - Melbourne
48. Carlisle Motion Control - Tullamarine
49. GKR Transport - Welshpool
* K & S Freighters $10,000 *
Trucks In Action
Building Fund
Life Membership
APPLICATION
Name_________________
Company______________
Address_______________
______________________
______________________
______________________
Phone_________________
Email_________________
Please tick one box
Bronze
$1500
Silver
$2750
Gold
$5000
Platinum $10000
(Includes GST)
PAYMENT OPTIONS
MAIL:
RTHS Building Fund
PO Box 8099, Alice Springs
NT, Australia 0871
EMAIL:
Credit Card Details to:
info@roadtransporthall.com
FAX:
Credit Card Details to
08 89529895 / 08 89532955
DIRECT DEPOSIT:
Road Transport Historical Soc.
ANZ Bank, Alice Springs
BSB: 015881 ACCT: 2575 49867
* Free *
Join as a friend of
the Hall of Fame
and show you like
us on facebook
facebook.com/Trucks.n.Trains
NOTICE
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
The AGM will be held in the
Boardroom at the National Road
Transport Hall of Fame at a date
to be set in November 2012
All documentation pertaining to the AGM
will be included in the September newsletter.
Previously the AGM has been held in
February each year. Please note the change.
Transmission
new
Shezza’s Challenge
By
CROSSWORD Sherrill
Ives
Answers to all clues can be found in the February edition of
Transmission. Find a copy on www.roadtransporthall.com
17
Vale John (JD) Dods
30.08.37 - 11.04.12
It was a sad time for
all
with
the
untimely passing
of one of our
valued volunteers
last month. John
(JD) Dods’ heart
ruptured during
dinner at the Hall.
Thank you to Senior Volunteers Annette
Bateson and Sherrill Ives who worked in
vain to revive him. Thank you also to Sabina
at the Alice Springs Hospital, the
Ambulance team and Phil the Coroners
Constable. We offer our condolences to the
extended Dods family and thank them for
coming to Alice Springs to share a
Memorial Service with us. Goodbye Mate!
Our Mate, One of the Family
Written by
Sherrill Ives, Annette Bateson & Sue Cullen
Across
Down
2. Who were housed at Ewaninga
4. Adorns Julie
7. Be remembered on one of these
8. The name of Joe Cali’s bus
9. For the girl’s relaxation
10. Coming soon to the Ghan
11. The Trucks in Action will house what?
13. Julie’s twin
14. Australian Made World’s Best
16. Crafted the new sword for Julie
18. Was involved in developing radio
communications
19. It’s the reunion month
22. Len’s modified KB7 truck was called?
25. Powering business world-wide
26. This year’s anniversary of our
museum
28. Type of motor
30. An eight wheeled roadtrain
33. Johannsen’s first name
36. Name of a Northern Safari bus
37. A restored Viscount on display
38. The blower is mounted on what truck
40. Sponsors the Wall of Fame
41. What Julie is
1. Bringing the Rig of the Year to Alice
3. These were empty and carted in a
1964 B-model Mack
5. Famous track in central Australia
6. Outback photography bloke
7. The girl’s trip was to this place
12. Position held by Graham Holmes
15. Found at the Ghan museum
16. By being this you can be a part of
our museum
17. Used camels to transport goods in
Central Australia
20. Made his own trucks
21. The engineer who produced the
Rotinoff Viscount twins
23. Who commissioned the Rotinoffs
24. Keeps the beer cold
27. Its 27 kilometres south of Alice
29. Travelled the outback selling goods
31. A gauge size of railway line
32. Lew Couper holds this title
34. The name of a 1942 Diamond T 980
35. A famous river and race event
39. Only person from the original
committee still at Hall of Fame
His name is John Dods; Dodsie
To us he was known as JD
A valued member of the RTHS volunteer family
Always there to lend a helping hand
Never one to bury his head in the sand
Mowing lawns, feeding birds, plumbing bits
Welding parts were just some of his tricks
No job too big or too small
For this bloke who gave his all
JD followed his dream to travel afar
Made true friends under many a star
Those he loved whom he left behind
Lived on always in his heart and mind.
Theresa’s quilt was his pride and joy
A gift for his caravan just made for a boy
He loved to cook, it was a social thing
Meal times and washing up did happiness bring
A special mate was Big Bad John
When together who knew what really went on
But be sure it would be to their good
True friendship developed as it should.
His sincere smile, his cheeky grin
Always made him welcomed in
At Greg and Annette’s: he’d enjoy a cuppa here
But it was to Sherrill’s he’d go for a beer.
Welder, fisherman, horseman too
JD’s life was rarely blue
Nothing fazed him, not even a good brawl
Sometimes he would win, sometimes he would fall
JD always played fair, always stood tall and bold
Never met a man with such a heart of gold
Always found words of praise
For those he encountered during his days
Fitted well with those he met everywhere
Showing he really did listen and really did care.
Stories, laughter, advice and understanding
Patient, tolerant, never cruel, never demanding.
Now he’s gone to pastures on high
His last words to one and all: Kapai.
Transmission
BUY
A BRICK
Fathers Day!
he
t
e f
Giv ift o
G
Me
e
b
m
ip
h
rs
a
or
k
c
i
r
B n
l
a
i
ni
r
a
m o the mr life
e
M to you
Remember a loved one, an old
trucking company or era, pay
tribute to your mates or even an
old workhorse from yesteryear
Your Details
Name
Payment Information
You can pay for any item or service from the
Road
Transport Historical Society Inc. by
Cheque, Money Order, Credit Card or Direct
Deposit. Please take the time to fill out this
slip and return it with your application for
any of the services so there is no confusion.
Thank you for your support.
My name is
Attached is my application & payment for,
.
Phone
Wording on your Brick
eg: membership, Buy a Brick, Memorial Park
(Maximum: 60 characters over 3 lines)
CREDIT CARD
We accept Visa, Bankcard Master Card
Name on card
Card Number
MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION
Road Transport Historical Society
PO Box 8099 (2 Norris Bell Ave)
Alice Springs, NT, 0871, Australia
Phone: 08 89527161 Fax: 08 89529895
Email: info@roadtransporthall.com
Expiry Date
Security Number
Check Spelling and Dates are Accurate
Amount $
Date
Signature
TRUCKS
TRAINS
Memorial Park
CHEQUE / MONEY ORDER
in memorial to your loved ones
Name
Address
Phone
Email
TYPES OF MEMBERSHIP (AUD$)
Pensioner
$30 pa
Memorial Park is located in the grounds of the
National Road Transport Hall of Fame in bushland
setting with large sand stones placed around a
small dam. It is the ideal serene setting to inter or
place a memorial to your loved one in a real
truckie’s place.
OPTION 1. The cost of any placement of ashes,
plaques or other memorial items in Memorial Park
is a standard $50.00 if you supply the item.
Please make payable to R.T.H.S... and post
to
Road Transport Historical Society Inc.
PO Box 8099, Alice Springs, NT, 0871,
DIRECT DEPOSIT
Name: Road Transport Historical Society
BSB: 015 881
Account: 2575 49867
Please use your name as the reference
Single
$65 pa
Friend
$25 pa
Corporate
OPTION 2. If you want us to arrange the plaque
for you the cost is $200.00 for the supply of a
standard brass plaque (A5) which will be mounted
on the stone of your choice in the garden setting.
$250 pa
1. POST to address at bottom of page
2. FAX to 08 89529895 or 08 89538940
3. EMAIL: info@roadtransporthall.com
Your Details
Life
$1,100 life
Gold
$5,000 life
Platinum
$10,000 life
Inductee
FOC 1st yr.
Subscription
to newsletter
$20.00 pa
Name.
Address
Phone
OPTION 1 : Wording on your Plaque
(Maximum: 200 characters over 8 lines)
ew
n
($250 - $5,000. Call Liz for more info)
**************************
Mack Mates Club
Subscription
Annual Subscription
for Transmission Newsletter
Pay only $25.00 for the next four issues
of Transmission Newsletter. Price
includes handling, postage and GST.
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the Road Transport Historical Society
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RENEWAL.
Please ensure you print neatly and that
all your names are spelt correctly and
dates accurate. Changes are not possible
Thankyou for your Support
RETURN TO : Road Transport Historical Society Inc., PO Box 8099, Alice Springs, NT, Australia 0871
OR fax 08 89529895 OR email info@roadtransporthall.com OR for any enquiries call 08 8952 7161
Transmission
CURRENTLY COLLECTING OLD PROMOTIONAL BROCHURES AND LEAFLETS
Proudly hosted by the Hunter Valley Classic Commercial Vehicle Club
Please send to Liz Martin, PO Box 8099, Alice Springs, NT, 0871