Bruce Stanes
Inducted into the Shell Rimula Wall of Fame in 2023.
Bruce Garnaut Stanes, ‘Stanesy’ was born in November 1948 and grew up on Erldunda Station. Bruce married Shirley Anne Kittle in 1970 and they had one son, Mark Stanes born in 1980.
Bruce was educated via School of the Air until the age of 9 and then he attended St Peters College in Adelaide until leaving school in 1964. Bruce’s first job was building windmills and troughs with RJ (Bulla) Smith on various Northern Territory Pastoral properties. Bruce then moved on to work for Barry Clough dam sinking and driving a water cart. They completed works at Tylers Pass Oil Well, Victoria River Downs, Brunchilly and Avon Downs stations.
In the late 1960s Bruce worked for RPM Transport (Tanami Transport) carting cattle in single deck trailers and refrigerated freight from Alice Springs to South Australia.
In 1971 Bruce began working for Transport & Works. This role involved heavy haulage driving and moving plant and equipment as a mobile roadworks camp and operating machinery to build roads.
In 1980 Bruce purchased his own truck and he began working for Nganampa Transport to deliver freight throughout the APY lands, carting refrigerated and dry general freight on unsealed roads and hand unloading stock on arrival.
In 1984 Bruce returned to Transport & Works (NT Gov) as a Road Construction Supervisor. Bruce oversaw the building of remote roads including the Tanami. On weekends Bruce would cart cattle for Orange Creek Station to South Australia and Victoria.
In 2008 Bruce left Transport & Works to support his son Mark Stanes in starting his business, by driving trucks for Stanes Transport. Bruce has played an instrumental role in the business’ success. Bruce has driven everything up to triple road trains carrying general freight across the Central, Barkly and APY regions as well as hotshot and heavy haulage freight to Newmont Tanami.
As of 2023, aged 74, Bruce still works full time and on any given day is either driving a truck, loading a truck, or fixing a truck. He is the most beloved, hardest working, toughest no nonsense just get it done member of the Stanes Transport team. His knowledge of the local area, skills and lived experiences are invaluable and instrumental in training new staff for the industry. Bruce is the heart and backbone of Stanes Transport, and he is a true remote transport pioneer of Central Australia.
