Ronald Shelton
Inducted into the Shell Rimula Wall of Fame in 2023.
Ronald Desmond Shelton, known as ‘Wood Pecker’ or ‘Woody’ was born in 1945 in Mt. Gambier, South Australia. Ron was around trucks all his life simply because Aub Shelton of Kain and Shelton (later known as K & S Freighters) was his uncle.
As a child Ron was always fascinated with trucks and still is. As a young boy he would pretend to be a truck driver by making trucks out of anything he could get his hands on, which certainly meant they would never have passed a roadworthy test!
In 1952 Ron’s father, also named Ron, and his uncle Ivan drove for K & S. Ron’s father went on to buy his own truck, an International R180. This was magic for Ron as he could finally sit in the real thing! The first time Ron laid hands on a steering wheel he was just six years old.
Ron’s first paid job as a truck driver was for K & S Freighters when he was driving Internationals, carting building materials at 25 years of age. Ron’s trucking career went on to span 45 wonderful years. Ron ended up going ‘bush’ and carting pine logs locally for 30 of those years, with some interstate trips to Melbourne.
Ron drove a custom built early 70s model Atkinson for four and a half years. He was carting out of Telford and Hoods Depot in Mount Gambier. ‘At the time the vehicle was the most modern, the smartest looking and the fastest on the road’ recalls Ron. The majority of log trucks had 4 cradles, Ron’s had 14, so other drivers never wanted to be behind him in the loading line.
When CB radios came into use Ron was given his nickname ‘Wood Pecker’ or ‘Woody’ for short. The name stuck so much that it featured on the front of the Western Star 1993 FX and he would have a wood pecker in the cab with him.
For Ron, a truly outstanding highlight of his career lasted 15 years, the time he was logging with his best mate and dog ‘Buddy’. Ron was interviewed for Truckin’ Life in June 2002 where he told of the joy Buddy added to his days. He was also interviewed by the local paper after penning a poem for Buddy’s obituary.
Ron drove many trucks throughout his career including an Inter R180, 190, S model, Load Star and Acco. An Old Army Blitz, an Atkinson with a straight 8 gardener, a White Road Commander, a Ford Louisville and a Western Star. He’s driven a W Model Kenworth and a Mack ValueLiner, 500 Superliner and a Titan. His favourite was the Western Star.
Ron believes “Trucking was the best days of my life, I got paid to drive around the countryside and experience people and places I would never have seen or met or travelled to otherwise. It gave me a good living to provide for my family. I always loved the job, the open road, the vehicles and the peace and quiet.”
