Graeme Sutton
Inducted into the Shell Rimula Wall of Fame in 2023.
Graeme Andrew Sutton was born in 1960 in Numurkah. His love for trucks and the transport industry started at a young age on his family’s farm where he would ride passenger to Sydney. At the age of 18 Graeme secured his first job with Trease’s Transport Numurkah, Victoria, where he rose up the ranks.
1982 is when Graeme began his own story within the transport industry, buying a 1418 Benz to cart grain from the Riverina to Geelong. In July 1984 Graeme bought an Atkinson which he used to run interstate. He was carting general freight from around the Goulburn Valley to anywhere they wanted him to go. Back then watermelons were carted in straw so upon arriving at the market the buyers would rummage through the straw and retrieve the watermelons. Graeme would go to the tip to empty off the straw only to find multiple watermelons that had been missed.
Graeme’s passion for trucks was still there but he decided he needed a change. So, whilst continuing to manage the trucks he owned he went to work for Deluxe Coachlines out of Wangaratta. Graeme did overnight express which took him all over Australia. They would two-up to Perth, leave Wangaratta at 8am and get to Perth 8am two days later. It was during his bus driving career that he met the love of his life, Sharyn, when he was heading home from Expo 88 in Brisbane.
Graeme continued driving buses for two years before coming home to grow his trucking fleet. The fleet went from strength to strength as he bought trucks at cheap prices during the early 1990s recession. Sharyn and Graeme were married in 1990 then welcomed their children Mitch (1992), Braydon (1994) and Tegan (1996).
1997 was a big year for Graeme and his family. Graeme purchased his one and only depot just on the outskirts of Numurkah. The choice of location and timing could not have been better as this was when ‘Riverland’ now called ‘Graincorp’ started to kick off. Graeme got into tankers and never looked back.
In 2005 Graeme’s fleet peaked at 14 trucks. They are mostly general trucks but there are also a few tankers. Mitch took over the business in 2018 when Graeme bought his last truck to continue carting dairy products ex Sydney.
After many, many years in the transport game Graeme still has a lingering love for the industry. Graeme continues to drive for his son and also drives around brand-new trucks to get fitted out for Graham Thomson Motors, Shepparton. Over the millions of kms Graeme has travelled he is lucky enough to only have had one accident.
One day Graeme will fully retire but he will always reminisce and tell stories of his time on the road.
