Peter Killeen
Peter Stirling Killeen, known as PK to everyone in the industry, was born in January 1947 at Footscray in Victoria. He grew up with a love of trucks and machines. In the late 50s as a young boy, he started with his uncle Ginge who owned L.R. Dodd Transport, a local transport company working on the wharfs of Melbourne. At the age of 12 PK would be put with a new driver to give directions, explain locations and to give information on what to pick up or unload as he had gotten to know all the clients and their locations.
PK started his apprenticeship with G.V Clarke Motors, the Bedford agent in North Melbourne. Here PK honed his mechanical skills rebuilding engines, gearboxes, diffs, and everything else in-between.
In the early 60s PK got his licence and started relief driving for Wally Debney running Adelaide and Sydney as Debney had a contract with Ansett for his Dodge overnighter tray trucks. On the weekend PK would drive for Firefly Coaches running to Griffith.
Later Pk was driving a G88 Volvo truck and dog working for Ivan Slugar at Albion Quarry and he worked at Glovers Transport driving an International Transtar on the fuel run around the Lake Cargelligo area of NSW.
In the mid 70s PK became an owner driver and bought his first truck, an ex-Knights Transport of Kilmore DCO International, subcontracting to L.R. Dodd Transport, delivering out of Melbourne wharfs to local and country areas around Victoria. Years later PK updated the DCO to a new bogie drive Dodge with a 653 GM motor. When working with FCL he bought a Slimline cab over Kenworth, which he later upgraded to a LNT9000 Louisville VT903 Cummins motor and then he drove a F.C.L. company Volvo FL10 twin steer truck and dog.
By late 90s F.C.L had grown to a National Company, the largest transport company using rail containers in Australia. PK advanced to the role of National equipment purchaser and later to National equipment Operations Manager. PK’s knowledge and experience changed the way container transport and freight moved in Australia.
Through his job PK got to work closely with John Kruger (Kruger trailers); Arthur Barker (Barker trailers); Mack Trucks; Ford Trucks and Vic Roads to create innovations in the transport industry. Some of these designs include the super B train; the 48-foot sliding rear tail Skel trailer; the Container frame Barker tipping Skel; The lift and lower turn table (which combined with a low-profile Skel trailer which can transport 10 foot 6-inch-high containers); and the transport of F.C.L’s 60-foot-long shipping container. PK was ahead of his time in transport ideas and designs.
In the late 2000s F.C.L sold out to Linfox and as PK was 61 years old, he chose to retire early but came out of retirement two years later to help manage Australian Magnetite which operated road trains and tipping Skel’s out of the Northern Territory and Townsville to 20 coal mines. After this PK retired permanently and lived out his life at home in Exford, Victoria.
