Rex Bain
Inducted into the Shell Rimula Wall of Fame at ReUnion 2016.
Rex Bain was born 16th June 1934. He always had a passion for driving trucks and by 1958 he had started driving for Jack Hamilton carting drums and bulk fuel out of Esso in Spotswood. He then drove interstate for Doug Prior in an AEC Mandator subbying to Alltrans driving "two up" with Ian Scott.
On one memorable trip they broke an accelerator cable near Goulburn. They whipped the engine cover off, put it in the bunk and Rex leaned down into the motor and operated the revs from the side of the fuel pump while Ian drove the truck into Sydney. On another occasion they headed to Perth with a full load of cigarettes. The boss wanted to put the truck on the train at Pt Augusta to avoid 750 miles of dirt across the Nullarbor. With the truck loaded onto the train the drivers had a full day before departure. Rex and a couple of his crew decided a few beers at the local pub was a splendid idea. However, the boys night out ended up with them in the lock up for the night and the train leaving with the trucks on board! The next day Rex scrambled aboard another train hoping to find the truck at Kalgoorlie and avoid being fired! Luckily someone had taken it off the train, left the keys intact and the valuable cargo untouched! Rex went on to do another nine trips across the paddock swearing never to go on the train again.
Rex went on to hold several jobs driving interstate including stints with KL McKenzie, Johnston's Transport and Chalmers. He later moved to Clarks Refrigerated Transport in Bayswater driving an old White 3000, a 1418 Benz and later several Atkinsons. One of his all-time favourites was an International DCO with a 335 Cummins.
On one notable trip he broke an accelerator cable near Berrima. Unable to repair it, Rex used the hand throttle but shortly after that the knob came off that too, so it was back to the toolbox for a pair of pliers. He made it to Sydney market using the pliers to operate the throttle on a busy Sunday afternoon with the highway bumper to bumper all the way to Sydney.