Ron Bloomer

Inducted into the Shell Rimula Wall of Fame at ReUnion 2013.

Ronald (Ron) Bloomer was born in January 1937 at South Grafton, N.S.W.  where his family had long been involved in road transport. His  grandfather, Thomas, had won a contract for ten pounds to build a culvert on Woodford Island, Clarence River, in 1897, using a horse and dray and his late father, Vincent, worked a Chevrolet tipper building the concrete road through Ulmarra. By 1955 Ron had also entered the transport industry and was driving a milk tanker for the local Peters factory on a provisional license. Within a year Ron was driving for Saxby's Furniture Removalists taking two days to travel from Grafton to Sydney and staying overnight at the Coopernook Hotel. In 1957 Ron Bloomer took a job with Cromack and Tranter carting beer from the Grafton Brewery to Armidale and Tamworth.
 
In July 1958 Ron bought a Ford F600 tip truck for £2,582 and sub-contracted to the Ashford Shire. In 1961, with the new Gwydir Highway under construction, Ron moved back to the Clarence to work with the Department of Main Roads (DMR). By 1980 Ron was contracting to several local shires and the Flood Mitigation Authority working on river bank protection, levees and roads in the Grafton area. With several Fords and International trucks to now maintain and operate the business soon outgrew the Bloomer backyard and, in 1981, Ron moved to a depot in South Grafton where he was able to add a mechanical workshop and a gravel supply service to his business.

The first Bloomer highway truck was added to the business in 1988. It was a  Ford LNT 9000 fitted with a convertible trailer and used for woodchip cartage to Newcastle and carting steel from BHP to Brisbane subcontracting to his late brother Tom Bloomer. Ronald's son Mark left school in 1985 and  joined the family business initially co-driving a tipper for the DMR. Mark later purchased an International T Line from his father and become an owner driver.  In later years Ron's business further expanded to six prime-movers and ten trailers to service contracts with Tooheys, BHP and woodchip. Ron's wife, Tess, supported him in his chosen career and worked in the business as the bookkeeper.

In 2006, after 50 years in trucking, Ron sold part of the business to son Mark, the fourth generation Bloomer to work in the transport industry in the Clarence area. Ron doesn't drive anymore but still has his licence and at 76 years of age, he enjoys helping son Mark load and unload beer.