Jerry Brown-Sarre

Inducted into the Shell Rimula Wall of Fame at ReUnion 2005.

Jerry Brown-Sarre started driving trucks in country Victoria when he was just 16 years of age. He went to Melbourne in 1959 and, just a year later, at 17, he started doing local and country heavy haulage driving interstate on the goat tracks for companies such as Mathersons, Bovalino, Mattock, Jack Leech, K L McKenzie, Barney Kerr, Blair Haulage, Ken McLean, and FrigMobile.

In 1969 he bought his first interstate truck from FrigMobile and was amongst the first owner/drivers to buy a new Kenworth in 1970 to do Frigies Melbourne/Sydney shuttle. His black and bronze KW was well known in the eastern states in the 70s. In 1979 he was one of the first owner drivers to cart refrigerated produce out of far north Queensland to Melbourne.

Determined to haul a longer trailer Jerry put his bush lawyer skids to work and found a loophole in the length laws enabling him to do so. He had the first 45 ft refrigerated van built in Australia, keeping the loophole to himself until 1989 when he showed a Maxicube Sales Manager. Thereafter, 45 ft trailers were manufactured, bought and hauled by everyone all over the country.In his 45 years in the industry Jerry has been a driver, operated single trailers, roadtrains and has been a fleet owner. Sick of subbies being ripped off by some of the larger transport companies, Jerry started a campaign for sustainable rates for subcontractors in 2000. This has seen Jerry and others involved in lobby groups, protests and blockaded highways trying to organise support from owner drivers to fight for sustainable freight rates. He featured in the award winning SBS documentary on the transport industry "Sweatshop on Wheels" and is CEO of the Australian Long Distance Owner/Drivers Association.