Jock Bremner
Inducted into the Shell Rimula Wall of Fame in 2017.
JOCK BREMNER grew up on the family orchard in Blackburn, Victoria, where he got to drive a variety of tractors and trucks. As a small boy his first words were car and truck but there was no mistaking that trucks were his true passion. Although his mother would have preferred him to be an accountant, which he had started training for, Jock ultimately chose truck-driving as his career path. It was no surprise to many.
After driving for Coca Cola and various other companies for a while Jock returned to help his father on the farm for three years. He never stopped wanting to buy his own truck. In 1973 this dream materialised when Jock traded in his wife Carol's Corolla for an International ACCO 600 tray truck. He sub-contracted to SS Taxi Trucks and later went on permanent hire to a chemical firm. Jock sold the truck to them in order to purchase his and Carol's first home. He continued to drive for them until a downturn in business forced him to find other employment.
In 1977 Jock started what was to become a 31 ½ year term of employment with John and Carole Madden at M&S Transport in Ringwood, Victoria. During this time he carried local and interstate with a wide variety of general freight including Olex Cables, Vita Pacific products, Cummins engines, ABB Power Transformers and Nissan cars. At one point Jock was the eldest apprentice in the workshops. The government had introduced a scheme of training for employers to upgrade staff skills. When McCormack Timber hired M&S Transport to cart for them Jock was put on the run. He recalled it was his dream job. Jock carted daily from Ringwood to Broadford and down to Gippsland. He continued this job until his retirement in 2008. Not one to take retirement too easy, Jock drove casually for another five years.
Jock and Carol moved Cobram in 2013 and soon found they enjoyed travelling Australia in their caravan. When they found volunteer work at the National Road Transport Hall of Fame in Alice Springs they became regular visitors. Jock found the work rewarding and was proud to be able to give back to the industry which had been his life. To Jock it was 'a playground for boys who never wanted to grow up'. Jock passed away in December 2016 after a short illness.