Michael Armstrong

Inducted into the Shell Rimula Wall of Fame in 2021.

Michael Charles Armstrong was born and raised in Ballarat, Victoria. At 18, he started his first driving job with Darling Smith at the Ballarat rail yards, carting empty bottles to the Ballarat Brewery. His next job was with Eaton Transport carting new furniture from Melbourne to Ballarat before moving onto David Bolton Transport, to cart loads of 50 kilogram bags of potatoes to Melbourne markets.  David Bolton helped Michael obtain his semi-truck licence as up to then, he had been driving heavy rigid vehicles.

Michael met his wife in 1971, they married in 1974 and went on to have their first child, Michelle. By this time Michael was working at Selkirk Bricks in Ballarat driving a 1418 Mercedes Benz truck & dog and later, a twin steer Kenworth truck & dog.  Working at Selkirk for six years, Michael began driving interstate runs. His next job was with Glen Mar Transport in Ballarat, carting dog food from Ballarat to Sydney.

Around this time, Michael purchased his first truck, an Atkinson 3800 MK 3, contracting to  David Bolton Transport. Michael hauled potatoes from the Central Highlands area to Sydney markets and then took produce on to Adelaide for the second leg of each trip.  Michael operated his own truck for a couple of years but after the birth of his second child, Joshua, he decided to sell up.   Offered the  job of Sales Manager with Recar Consolidated Industry in Melbourne, Michael’s new role involved securing truck salvage repair   jobs for the workshop.  Michael became well known for his outstanding sales service and built a strong rapport with many  trucking companies.  

Michael and his wife then purchased a hotel in Ballarat which they owned and operated for 5 years after which Michael returned to different managerial roles within the truck salvage industry. In 2004, Michael opened his own business, M&B Trailers, which he and his daughter managed.  The business transported freight both locally and interstate. After several years, Michael returned to Western Truck Repairs as the Victorian Sales Manager where he worked until retirement.