Herb Adkins

Inducted into the Shell Rimula Wall of Fame at ReUnion 2010.

Herb Adkins has been in the trucking industry for fifty-four years. He began driving whilst farming; lumping bagged wheat, fertilizer and moving livestock around the local area.

In the early sixties Herb established a Pivot Fertilizer agency at Yarrawonga supplying a bagged and bulk spreading service. By setting up two Dodge spreaders he would service the southern Riverina and north east Victoria.

As this was a seasonal operation, in the off season he started running interstate with a C-Line International to Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide for Kennelly's Transport. In the seventies he bought a 1418 Benz with a thirty-eight foot trailer and started working for Allstates Freighters Melbourne carting supplies and equipment to mines all over Australia. The 1974 cyclone disaster at Darwin saw a need for construction materials (He wasn't home much the following year). In the mid-seventies an Acco 3070 and Tri Axle trailer were purchased and he began a regular run to Melbourne and Mt Isa mines. This saw the need to set up a roadtrain operation using an Atkinson then later a White Road Boss. The Mt Isa run ceased in the mid eighties, an opportunity to work for Turners Transport carting ductile water pipe and steel saw an ongoing relationship and introduction of son, Trevor, to the industry.

The need for a depot was required for maintenance which led to purchasing a block in Yarrawonga industrial area and building of a large shed. The Road Boss was replaced by a T650 Kenworth in 2000 which he is still currently operating. During the years away on the road he was well supported by his wife Marg. She raised three children and took care of the day-to-day business for him. After all those years of swearing, cursing and following caravans he's gone and bought one himself to spend time looking at the things he once drove past but never had the time to stop and look. He now had time to catch up with old friends that he made while on the road.