Robert Abdoo

Inducted into the Shell Rimula Wall of Fame at ReUnion 2016.

Robert James Abdoo (Bob) was born in 1953 in Wingham NSW and grew up on a nearby dairy farm at Killabakh. It was as a young child in Killabakh that his love of machinery and wheels first began. He enjoyed nothing more than driving trucks and tractors around the family farm.

Bob was destined to be a truck driver and moved to Sydney as soon as he turned 18 where he started driving trucks. Due to his Lebanese heritage Bob was given the nickname Arab, which stuck his entire life. His first job was driving a Dodge carting general freight around Sydney. A few years, after he had progressed to an International Transtar, a friend painted a camel on the wind scoop of it to match his nick name.

Bob then started driving a Commer Knocker tipper carting sand around Sydney for Bobbie Duncombe Following that he drove trucks and semitrailers carting general goods, roller doors and cars for a variety of companies. Bob also carted produce as far afield as South Australia and up to Far North Queensland where he and his Mack had to negotiate flood waters and were sometimes stranded for days.

In 1980's Bob became an owner driver setting himself up in the tow truck business in Sydney. The first truck was an AEC followed by a Bedford and finally an International. A few years later Bob returned to interstate with Evans Transport, carting building materials to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide. When Bob's mother became ill and he moved to the Nambucca Valley to be near her and drove interstate for Lindsay Brothers and Refrigerated Roadways.

In later years Bob drove locally for JR Richards, collecting garbage in the Nambucca Valley. He had been on the job for over 5 years when he seriously injured his back. With six prolapsed discs on one side he spent nine long months in hospital with rehabilitation.

In 2016 Bob lives on the Mid North Coast of NSW spending his time tinkering with trucks, volunteering and on his other great love - fishing.