John Burton
John Frank Burton, known as ‘JR’, was born n March 1953, in the Old Bowmont Hospital in Franklin, Tasmania. He married Helen, and together they raised five children—four girls and one boy. JR’s career in the transport industry was shaped by his father, Frank, a truck driver in Tasmania’s Huon Valley who hauled timber for sawmillers. JR often rode along with his father as a child, learning about trucking from an early age.
In 1972, JR started his driving career with an early model Dodge truck, carting logs on a single-axle trailer for local sawmiller Stan Brown. Over the years, he worked for several sawmillers and bush harvest operators, driving old-school trucks, including various Mercedes Benz models, and mastering tandem axle trailers on the steep, narrow gravel roads of Southern Tasmania. These early years helped JR develop the skills that would define his career.
In 1977, JR began full-time work with entrepreneur Ray Bender, transporting limestone from a quarry in Southern Tasmania to the Zinc Works in Hobart. JR initially drove a cab-over Leader truck, later transitioning to a 1980 Leader Challenger with a tandem tipper trailer. When Brambles took over the carting contract in the late 1980s, JR continued driving a Volvo N12 along the same route for 15 years until the quarry closed in the early 1990s.
After the quarry closed, JR briefly worked carting mushrooms from a farm in Glen Huon Tasmania to Hobart depots. However, in 1992 JR began working for BN and TP Bennett, a family-owned logging business in Tasmania’s Huon Valley. He started with a 1980 320hp R600 Mack Cool Power, followed by a series of Mack trucks, including a Value Liner, Trident, and eventually a new Mack Super Liner with a 685 Mack engine and an automatic gearbox. JR’s role involved hauling logs to sawmills and wood processing facilities in Southern Tasmania, and he played a key role in transporting wood chip logs to the Triabunna mill on the mid-east coast of Tasmania.
In 2011, during a downturn in the timber industry, JR took long service leave and worked for a few months carting gravel in Mackay with a Kenworth truck and dog. This was his first experience working outside Tasmania. Upon returning to Bennetts, JR resumed his usual duties.
Looking back, JR considers his 30 years of service with Bennetts one of his proudest achievements. He fondly recalls an amusing incident when a German tourist tried to squeeze between his truck’s wheels and trailer, only to be launched into a brick wall.
With over 50 years in the industry, JR’s career is a testament to his loyalty, skill, and humility. As he nears retirement, JR looks forward to spending time at his shack in Dover, Tasmania, and enjoying life on the road in his caravan.
