Peter Clark

Inducted into the Shell Rimula Wall of Fame in 2017.

Peter Clark was born in Carlton, Victoria in 1936. Peter came to New South Wales in February 1950 and went to work on a farm at Jimaringle in the Wakool district. He had his first drive in a truck on the property in a 1926/1927 Chevrolet 30 CWT truck. In 1952 while still working at the property he met Ron Landini, a transport operator from Wakool who came to the farm to load wool. He had a 1952 Ford tray body truck.

In 1955/56 Peter was employed by John Wilson of Tullakool in the same area who had a Commer truck that he drove and gained experience whilst carting stock and grain. In late 1956 Peter was employed by Ron Landini who he had met when he first came to the district, who gave him the chance to get a semi trailer licence. While at Landini's Peter carted mostly stock, wool and grain which had to be hand shovelled through trap doors on the floor of the semi trailer before tippers were common place. Peters next driving job came after he had a offer to cart red gum timber for Fitzpatrick's Saw Mill at Darlington Point in New South Wales near Griffith. Fitzpatrick's started to move into sawn timber for customers in Melbourne so with that started his interstate driving experience which lasted until the recession of timber prices being too high. He had to move on as no one could afford the interstate timber. Peter then moved back to Wakool and started work back with Landini's Transport again which came with a house for the family of four to live in.

In 1970 Peter started work with Ludvick Lumbar at Lumbar's Transport in Deniliquin carting general freight and grain where he stayed until 1975. In late 1975 Peter had a job offer to be home more from the rice growers co-operative to drive their fleet of SAR Kenworth trucks carting bulk rice from all rice areas to the Deniliquin rice mill for the next 22 and a half years until the powers that be made the drivers and fleet redundant in late 1997. Peter had virtually retired when Eddie Lumbar (Ludvick Lumbar's son) offered him a job starting a fuel carting operation to cart BP fuel from Melbourne to Bendigo and Deniliquin, and for the next two years he drove and delivered fuel to these towns until age caught up with him and Peter retired again.

Peter now enjoys his retirement time with his wife Mary making wrought iron furniture to sell at farmers market days, often catching up with other retired drivers for a talk about the old days and how easy the ones have got it today.