David Rogers

Inducted into the Shell Rimula Wall of Fame in 2023.

David John Rogers was born in January, 1957 in Alice Springs, Northern Territory, the second child of Richard and Gwen. David spent his early childhood years at Ammaroo Station, north-east of Alice Springs, living in a tin shed whilst his dad worked as a fence builder. When his parents moved into Alice Springs in 1959, David embraced town life, enjoying cycling and go-karting but not so much having to attend school.

However, trucks and driving became David’s first love with his career in the local transport industry starting at RPM Transport at the age of 14. RPM Transport was jointly owned by his father, Martin Petrick and Joe Mengel but Richard and Gwen bought out the other two partners and RPM eventually became Tanami Transport. David loved life on the road, soon becoming a competent, reliable driver of livestock road trains with an in-depth skillset in diesel mechanics, trailer maintenance and cattle management.  David was known, out on the road, as someone who could get just about anything mobile again and he was always willing to lend others a hand.

At 25 years of age, David married Anita but in true Rogers’ style, Tanami remained his first love. David’s children, Duncan and Chelsea, were soon born but for years they only saw their dad briefly between cattle carting trips. When his parents purchased Arapunya Station, roughly halfway between Alice Springs and Mt Isa, Queensland, David and his brother, Alan, took over ownership and operations of Tanami Transport. David continued to drive though as working behind a desk in an office was not for him. David was well respected for his hard work ethic and once he had loaded, he did not mess around getting the cattle on board to their destination. However, while out on the road, he always made a point of stopping for any vehicle on the side of the road that looked in need of some help, even if it was just food and water.

In 1986 the brothers sold the business and David, his family and his parents, moved to the Pilbara in Western Australia to live a life on the land at Kooline, Duck Creek and Mount Stuart Stations. Upon leaving Alice Springs, David’s instructions to Anita, who he put in a car with their two precious children were just, “Drive 1,000km and pull up”. The journey took three days and David followed behind in a truck loaded with sheep, cattle, goats and dogs.

In 1990, David and his family returned to Alice Springs, settling on acreage just outside of town. David then bought his own trucks branching out from livestock cartage to also operate side tippers, end tippers and flat tops. David did remote area freight runs, carted building supplies and relocated grader camps, building a business in a niche market. He also later invested in properties interstate but refused to leave the Northern Territory again.

David eventually retired and spent his time on the block with his family, his animals and in his shed. He particularly loved spending time with his two young granddaughters whom he adored, before his unexpected death in August, 2022. ​​​​​​​ David is remembered by those who knew him as a man of few words, with a great sense of humour and very much a quiet achiever.