Ray Blake

Inducted into the Shell Rimula Wall of Fame at ReUnion 2012.

It was in 1979 that Ray (Buster) Blake purchased his first truck, a 1418 Mercedes Benz, and started his life in the trucking industry. Initially he carted for Vaughan's Transport hauling general freight from Melbourne to Adelaide, Sydney and Brisbane for several years before selling his truck in the mid 1980s.

Buster then began working for Glenmar Haulage out of Ballarat driving a brand new 'Gumboot' Scania. This was his favourite truck of all time and he used it to cart flour and dog food from Melbourne to Brisbane, Sydney and Adelaide. Buster also did a stint driving for Bob Watson of Horsham before starting his own business in Ballarat.Trading as RJK Haulage Buster and his wife Janine sub-contracted for Watson's Transport carting general freight locally and interstate. They did this right up until 2002 when Buster was forced to retire prematurely because of illness. However, after a long and rocky road to recovery, the call of the road was too strong. Buster had itchy feet and was determined to get back behind the wheel.

This time the truck he chose was not a large semi trailer but a little UD delivering the Herald Sun and the Age newspapers from Melbourne to Adelaide two nights a week. Buster shared this run with his son Ronnie until the beginning of 2012.Buster has done the miles and kept on time for over 30 years in the trucking industry and is enjoying his semi-retirement.