Frank Bilato
Inducted into the Shell Rimula Wall of Fame in 2023.
Franco, known as Frank, Bilato was born in Darwin in 1966. He made his start in transport long before he legally held a licence, helping out his father, Dino. Dino was a first-generation Italian immigrant who came to Australia at a time where long and laborious hours were the only way for newcomers to make a living. As young as 11 years old, Frank can remember loading trucks with his father and two older brothers, starting and finishing his days in the dark.
It was Frank’s job to fuel up and grease Dino’s and the other operators’ trucks out of drums. At his father’s urging, Frank started an apprenticeship as an electrician. However, the call of the transport industry proved too strong and, in 1989, Frank started driving for Gulf Transport, carting ore at Argyle diamond mine in Western Australia.
During his time with Gulf, Frank was also stationed in Wyndham, carting lead and zinc concentrate from Cadjebut mine to Wyndham wharf. He was appointed the depot manager for Gulf at Woodcutters mine in 1994 and, later, operations manager for the business.
In 1996, Frank joined his brothers, Robert and John, in purchasing G&S Transport in Alice Springs. Frank and his brothers have spent the past 27 years building an impressive fleet of Kenworths and have clocked millions of kilometres throughout the Northern Territory and Western Australia.
Frank’s journey in the transport industry has been supported by his wife, Robyn. Together, they have raised two children who were lucky enough to spend a lot of time in the passenger seat growing up, seeing plenty of Australia alongside their hero.
Those who know Frank know he is an avid storyteller, happy to share his tales from his many decades on the road. He may tell you about a grasshopper plague he encountered on a trip to Lake Nash, having to stop regularly to scrape grasshoppers off the front of the truck to stop it from overheating, or he may tell you about a trip to Kiwirrkurra with his son, Ryan, where his back trailer got bogged and then broke through the road. Getting out meant walking a grader 130km over 3 days to dig out the trailer, during which Ryan helpfully remarked “Dad, I don’t think you should’ve driven into that hole!”.
