Ian Gibson from Perth, WA, has been involved in the road transport industry since 1971, when he was discharged from the army. At that time he often travelled as a sidekick (passenger) with a friend who drove for R Palmer carting logs in a B Model Mack . After 3 weeks his friend was confident enough to give Ian “the wheel”, Ian readily admits:
“I did stuff up a little bit initially but once I got the thing and the two sticks under control i knew it was the life for me “.
After a short period in the log haulage industry Ian went over to Brambles where he worked for over 20 years. He recalls he had to literally work his way up through the ranks so to speak. Ian was always flexible about when he woriked and where he worked so was a valued asset to the company. Following that Ian did a spell with Bellways mainly involved in road trains and carting pipes up to Burrup for the gas pipe line. During his long trucking career Ian has operated three trucks of his own.
“Back in the day, working as an owner operator was better than wages as long as the wheels kept on turning and we could do that in the West”.
Ian also drove for Pickering Brook transport, carting fruit in containers to the wharf and palletized fruit to the old Centaur ship which went to Singapore and various islands around the Pacific. Ian got to know the head chef who would bring music tapes back to Australia that were not available in Australia at that time. He also remembers loading wool out of Roy Hill using a side pole fitted to the side of the trailer and whinching one bale at a time onto the truck. It would take a couple of days to load a road train.
Ian recalls good times and bad and says it was a bloody hard job but a good one. He still does a short run now and again in a Titan which he says is a far cry from the B and R model Macks, in those days nothing was too big, too heavy or too far. If a load had to go you didnt question it you just found a way to do it. Congratulation Ian on your induction. Inducted 2016.
