John Bicket

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

John Bicket has been involved in the transport industry for over 40 years. At the age of 18 years his first driving experience was in a 1934 Ford tray truck for a chaff mill in Bendigo, Victoria. In the late 1950s he started driving a TS3 Commer diesel and carted livestock interstate.

Over the next few years he drove a variety of different trucks (a Leyland Albion Riever, an R190 International, a Diamond T, a Bedford, and a Dodge), and continued carting livestock and general freight for various companies.

In 1977, John went into partnership and brought his first truck, a Volvo with a McGrath trailer, to transport wool and general freight. After 12 months he traded it in for a White Road Commander which he kept running for over 20 years. In 1983, John and his wife Dorothy started operating as BFT Transport and specialized in transporting wool interstate. Business grew quickly and they purchased another Road Commander with an O'Phee trailer. They began to sub-contract work and expanded their business by purchasing 2 new DAF prime movers. Over the years some of these trucks were replaced with an S Line International and a Ford LTL.

John Bicket continued driving and servicing trucks for many years. He also managed loading schedules and the sub-contracting of work. John has had a long association with the Pickering Group and family. During his time in business he was an active member of several industry associations including the LDRTA and the Natroad.

John retired in 2003 with a fleet of two Freightliners and two Mack trucks. BFT employed four drivers and an operational manager and office staff during the time it operated.