Brent Tregear

Inducted into the Shell Rimula Wall of Fame in 2023.

Brent Tregear, known throughout the transport industry as Ben, was born at Moreland in Victoria in 1953. During his childhood Brent’s father owned tip trucks and later drove a Bedford for Victorian Producers. Young Brent decided then that truck driving would be his life’s work. 

After getting his car licence a few days after his 18th birthday, Brent wrote to the Police Commissioner requesting permission to get a semi licence before the required one year had elapsed. Permission was granted. 

At age 18 Brent was employed by LSR Transport at Port Melbourne as a local driver, driving a Diamond T with a Perkins motor. He was sub-contracted to Super Transport Services pulling containers off the wharf. In 1973 he was offered a job with Super’s driving a new Kenworth 8-wheeler and he hit the highway doing changeovers in the main street of Gundagai six nights a week, throughout the Seventies. 

At that time the Hume was a narrow “goat track” most of the way and was an exciting challenge to drive. There were several bridges between Albury and Sydney where two trucks were unable to pass without taking mirrors off, or worse. 

Super Transport was sold to Jetsroad, and in 1980 Brent went to Eastoes driving W model and SAR Kenworths and an R model Mack, moving refrigerated freight. While he was at Eastoes he formed some lifelong friendships and served as TWU delegate until the company was sold in 1989, prompting a move to Kwikasair doing both local and interstate driving. 

In 1994, Brent went to Toll where he spent a very happy 25 years. The first 15 years were spent driving interstate travelling as far as Cairns, Darwin and Perth. During the early years at Toll, he served as a member on the Long-Distance Drivers Committee with the national branch of the Transport Workers Union. 

After clocking up more than 8 million kilometres on the road, “never clipping a mirror!”, Brent was recruited to the office and after 12 months was made Regional Manager of Toll Linehaul Victoria, S.A., W.A., N.T. and FNQ. Four years later he was promoted to National Linehaul Manager and after a further two years he was appointed Head of Operations for all of Toll interstate and most country runs, company equipment, sub-contractors and rail.  

In April 2020 Brent retired to split his time between his family and his golf club which he did until his death in 2023.