Ivan Bull

Ivan ‘Bully’ Bull was born on 8th March 1949. He has always had a love for trucks as his father owned a roadworks business where he began his career at 14, driving Blitz and Chevys in South Australia. From the age of 18, trucking took him to many places, many jobs and of course, many different trucks.

His love for the Northern Territory is what pulled him there first, driving a Ford tray top in Alice Springs and carting buffalo from stations to the meatworks in Wyndham, driving a Mack for Buntine Roadways. Black tea and rib bones were always breakfasts on the stations when loading in the NT.

South Australia saw him carting livestock in a Bedford and International Gemi for Scotts, and for Hastings in an International C1800 V8. One of Bully’s favourite memories of that time were when he and his best mate Barry were loading sheep, in suits, after pulling an all-nighter in the pub the night prior. The boss at Hastings sure had a good chuckle at that one!

Bully left the NT just before Cyclone Tracy hit in 1974. He made the move back to South Australia where he married his wife Laurene in 1976. They went on to have two children. From then, Bully purchased his own trucks, from an International AB180 running general freight, to a LTL Ford 400 Cummins carting from Melbourne to Perth.

Bully and his family moved to Perth in 1992, and after a lot of hard work, owned their family company for 10 years. Their fleet consisted of 11 trucks, 2 fridge vans, 14 semi tippers and 4 dollies carting for Redymix and Westfarmers.

After selling the business, Bully bought an International Eagle and worked for Nexus Freight. He and Laurene then started working as a two up team driving for Centurion from Perth to Broome in a Western Star carting for Woolworths for the next 6 years.

Bully finally retired at 74 and spends his days in Perth or caravanning around Australia.

He still loves and misses trucks and the transport industry.

Inducted in 2024