Bev Betts

Bev was the second child of William (Bill) and Elsie Fenning, born 29th of September 1950. Her parents had trucks taking sawn timber from the mill in Gloucester NSW, delivering fuel and groceries to Gloucester, beer to the brewery in Grafton and also owned the local brick yard supplying and delivering bricks to the area. Bev started her working life in the office at Carson’s Northern Timber Sawmill in Gloucester and, after marrying Peter Betts in 1972, she began working for her parents company and his family logging company.  Peter also worked for his family logging company (one family brought the logs to the mill and the other took the sawn timber away).

In 1989, Peter and Bev moved to Walcha and started their own logging business, PW Betts Walcha Pty Ltd. They contracted to Bev’s second cousin, Leonard Fenning of Fenning Timbers. During this time, they had logging equipment and Mack and Kenworth log trucks. One of the major achievements in this time was upgrading many roads around Walcha to become B-Double routes, often having to complete the necessary road upgrades themselves. This allowed them to bring B-Double Fold-a-skel units up from Tasmania and changed the efficiency of bringing logs to the mill.  They successfully operated this business until 1996 when changes in forestry legislation meant they needed a change of direction.

Fortunately, they already had a Kenworth B-Double carting timber to North Queensland that they repurposed to become a general freight truck. Bev was instrumental in running operations, getting new customers as well as running all the administration. One truck soon became 2 and 2 soon became 4 and, with Bev’s managerial skills along with Peter’s practical ability, they were on the road to re-building their business back up.

In 2001, they renamed the business to be Betts Transport Pty Ltd and, in 2005, branded the business that you see today. In 2006, Bev and Peter added livestock trucks to the already large fleet of around 25 highway trucks. Bev campaigned heavily for the abolishment of payroll tax as she believed it was a tax that supressed business growth. Bev was also involved in various business groups and was often asked to speak about her career.

Bev continued to manage Betts Transport right up until she passed away from cancer in April 2021, when the business had 36 highway trucks and 12 livestock trucks.  Bev leaves behind her husband Peter, children Elizabeth and Christopher, grandchildren, Max, Tilly, Oliver, Poppy and Ava and is sadly missed.

Bev or BB as she was known in her later life was always around to lend a helping hand to anyone in the industry. She believed that hard work and ‘having a go’ were admirable traits. BB believed that the truck drivers working at Betts were the reason for the company’s success and she always looked out for all the staff and their families, especially never forgetting a birthday! BB was recognised several times with various industry awards and posthumously with a rose garden in her name in her hometown of Walcha where she gave generously to her community.

Inducted in 2024