Neville Dobbs
Inducted into the Shell Rimula Wall of Fame in 2018.
Neville was born in Waihi a small town in the Thames Valley on the North Island of New Zealand on the 12th June 1957.
He did his apprenticeship with PAEROA MOTORS at Paeroa a 1/2 to 3/4 hours drive from his hometown.
He moved to Australia 1978 aged 21 years old.
His first job was with BUNTINES Wyndham as a mechanic in the workshop.
Whilst doing that he became a
back up driver often driving a W model Kenworth powered by a 250hp Cummins pulling three single deck Horse Crates. This was the beginning of the driving of BIG TRUCKS.
His next job was driving for ROCKDRILL in a six wheel drive MAN in the Oil Exploration Fields.
Neville moved to Alice Springs and began working for ASCOTS driving one of their AUTOCARS.
He did a lot of driving on the MEREENIE OIL FIELD run, always the last to leave both Alice and Meereenie not because he was slow but due to his mechanical ability to make sure all the fleet got home again if there were any breakdowns.
PUTLAND TRANSPORT employed Neville as both a mechanic and back up driver.
Driving became Neville's passion, he applied for a job with McDONALD'S TRANSPORT and began the Alice Springs to Darwin run for their Coles and Kmart Contract. He was working with McDonalds Transport when they sold out to NORTHERN TERRITORY FREIGHT SERVICE. This saw him return back to ASCOTS.
Opportunity arose in 1987 for Neville to purchase a Mack Superliner 11, R722RS from Leigh Dehne an existing sub-contractor with NTFS.
The Mack named BLUE THUNDER and it's owner Neville became legendary when they won the RIG OF THE MONTH in the TRUCKIN LIFE MAGAZINE for September and went onto win the RIG OF THE YEAR for 1987. A parade and presentation was held in Adelaide which saw Neville and his Blue Thunder along with NTFS triple van combination travel through King William Street and along North Terrace Adelaide.
The Northern Territory was on parade in the main streets of Adelaide.
Neville sold BLUE THUNDER in 1990. He then purchased a Bicentennial Mack
- 'Ned Kelly' which he used on
the Brisbane - Darwin run and also carried out haulage work for McBrides Transport Alice Springs.
As the mining operations increased in the Northern Territory Neville found his way back into the mechanical side
working for TRI STAR in Darwin. Setting up the UTO WESTERN STAR ROAD TRAIN TIPPERS for their McArthur River Operations.
Once set up Neville went to be a driver Trainer for the UTO Road Trains.
Oil exploration was a large part of his later working life seeing him travel all over the world setting up new Oil Rigs from the first earthworks to firing up the Rig. Next to his trucking career the Oil Industry was his passion.
With his trucks he would say "I can build them and I can drive them", something he was very proud of.
Unfortunetley Neville had a battle with Prostate Cancer which he lost on 31st October 2015.