John King
Inducted into the Shell Rimula Wall of Fame in 2023.
John King, known as ‘Kingy’ to his peers and ‘John’ to his friends and family was born in 1947 in Cunnamulla, Queensland. John has been happily married to Yvonne since 1974 and they have two children, Julie and Nathan.
In his youth, John relished the opportunity to drive and maintain the lend lease Chevrolet farm truck on the family farm in Cobar. In 1965, John relocated to Wangaratta in Northern Victoria and simultaneously accepted an apprentice mechanic position at ‘West City Autos’. This traineeship ended in early 1970 and at that stage John had gained relevant ‘know how’ of the repair and maintenance of dodge trucks.
This same year, John made the audacious move of becoming an ‘Owner- Driver’. This coincided with the ballot and acquisition of a rural property outside of Coleambally in southern New South Wales. John accumulated sufficient revenue in mixed farming to own and drive 5 trucks over a period of 52 years.
The trucks owned and driven by John include:
1960 Dodge 1060 361 cubic inch V8 Petrol
1964 Dodge 1016 361 cubic inch V8 Petrol
1972 Atkinson 3866C (Mark II) NTC 335 Cummins, RTO 915 Roadranger gearbox
1968 Atkinson 3200 Series– (Mark I) 6-71N GM, 10 speed overdrive Roadranger
1977 KENWORTH – W900A Model Original 8V-92TA Detroit and Torsion Bar suspension
These trucks transported hay, grain, corn, cotton, fertiliser and stock to storage facilities and livestock markets. These vehicles also appeared in ‘The Gear Change’ and ‘Vintage Trucks’ Magazines’. All trucks were driven, maintained and registered by John.
Over the years, the most challenging work for John was the transportation of stock, wool and hay during the hot summer months and drought years. Rough, wet and unsealed dusty roads and interstate travel were a regular obstacle but accepted as part and parcel for John. John recalls his most unusual load as being the haulage of “a load of feral goats” from Cobar to Deniliquin during the 1960s.
John refers to himself as ‘semi-retired’ and has no intention of parting with the remainder of his fleet of registered and working vehicles. Local hay and grain haulage is still a constant for John and he continues to travel the highways and backroads of the Goulburn Valley in Victoria.
