Terence and David Smith
Inducted into the Shell Rimula Wall of Fame in 2023.
David and Terence, ‘Terry’, Smith were both born in Cloncurry in Queensland, David in 1960 and Terry in 1961. They have worked in the transport industry since the late 1970s. Terry joined his parents in 1978 with David joining the family business in the mid-1980s. With their mother, Shirley Smith, they continue as owner operators of Cloncurry Smith’s Transport.
Terry left school in 1978 and immediately returned home to cart fuel and general cargo for his parents, who were then operating the Cloncurry BP Fuel Depot as TD & SA Smith. Terry’s first truck was a Ford Louisville. In 1982, one memory Terry would rather forget was bogging the fuel truck for nearly two days at Wollogorang, past Hells Gate.
In 1983, Terry’s parents invited him into the partnership and they became Smith’s Livestock Haulage. He bought his first Kenworth K124 and ventured into cattle carting in early 1984. By 1991 the business was expanding and Terry upgraded to a Kenworth C501. Not confined to cattle carting he had the unusual request to transport a wide load… a house to Tara Station, north of Cloncurry. Not his regular cargo but nothing was too much trouble. Terry worked tirelessly, long hours and long days, quietly slogging away. Over the years Terry carted cattle all around Queensland and the Northern Territory from station to station, to meat works east and south, to sale yards and Darwin for live export. He also did the occasional trip into New South Wales.
When cattle carting was quiet Terry did one off jobs, hauling general cargo from Melbourne to Townsville and Sydney to Darwin. In 1989 he wanted to branch out into end tipper work and later expanded into side tippers in 1995. Terry juggled both cattle and tipper work until 1997.
Upon leaving school in 1975, David completed a mechanical apprenticeship and began driving trucks for Peter Sherwin and later Curley Bros during which time he drove R Model Macks and Superliners.
David returned home to join the family business in the mid 1980s hauling fuel and general cargo around the lower Gulf region. David bought his own Mack Superliner, later upgrading to a Western Star 4964 in 1993.
In the late 1980s Smith and Son (Haulage Cloncurry) Pty Ltd and Smith and Son (Fuels Cloncurry) Pty Ltd was established. Arguably, one of the sadder moments was when the family had to sell out to Dicky David in the early 1990s as a result of BP restructuring their depots.
David continued in general haulage around the Gulf region of far Western Queensland until 1997 when Terry handed him reigns of the cattle carting business. For twenty years David concentrated on that side of the business while Terry focused on side tippers. Since 2017 Terry and David have worked together sharing the tipper and cattle carting work as needed.
Terry’s best memories are of mateship within the industry in the early days and being taught the trade by experienced operators who were happy to pass on their knowledge. For David, it was being able to take his children Sarah, Keely and Jarad on trips in the truck with him.
Both Terry and David are currently still living the dream as owner/operators of Cloncurry Smith’s Transport, completing cattle carting and side tipper work around Queensland and the Northern Territory. They continue to enjoy mateship, laughs and highs and lows with many past and present operators who are lifelong friends.
