Ian Smith

Ian Allan Smith, the eldest of four, was born 21st February 1948 in Adelaide to Gordon and Merl Smith. When Ian was 7 the family moved to Kangaroo Island as part of the Soldier Settlement Scheme, completing his education at Parndana Area School. Each day he wrote in his Journal “last night I played with my truck” and drew a picture. It was somehow prophetic!

Ian began his driving life on Kangaroo Island working for Dean Johnson of American River. He travelled to Alice Springs in 1972 starting as a mechanic with Buntines which later became Co-Ord. He was soon driving for them and was fondly called the “fruit tingle kid” as he always had fruit tingles on the dash. Ian drove “The King and I”. His weekly trip was delivering freight from The Alice to Larrimah. If he arrived back at the depot early he would do a quick trip to Kununurra and Wyndham.

Ian married Lynnette Corigliano in 1974. He settled down and left truck driving for 2 years and tried his hand at fruit picking. Packing up his wife and baby son the family moved to Berri, South Australia. It didn’t take long for Ian to realise fruit picking wasn’t for him. After five months he moved his family back to The Alice. Ian worked for Centralian Motors before getting back on the road again with Co-Ord.

In 1980 Ian and Lynnette sold their F100 for $2600 and bought themselves a welding business which within a year they had changed it to a mechanical business named, “Dunallan Automotive Services”. In no time Ian had a name for himself as the person who could work on anything with wheels. Ian would work on, and was willing to work on, everything. His belief was “a truck off the road costs money” and would go out of his way to make sure the truck was back in service as soon a practical. In 1988, with the Volvo Agency added to the business, Ian and his wife purchased a property in Kenneth Court and built a new workshop which had drive through access for trucks and cranes.

On 2nd August 1988, Ian was called out to a mechanical job – in the course of his work he was accidentally killed. Ian died doing what he loved most; getting trucks back on the road. Ian (Smithy) will always be missed by his wife and 4 children.

Inducted  2010