Kevin “Dawsy” Daws

Inducted into the Shell Rimula Wall of Fame at ReUnion 2005.

Kevin first drove on the road alone in 1960 when he was 14.  He was driving for Cannys of Wangaratta. At 16 he went to New Zealand and got his licence by putting his age up to 21. He drove there for two years.

On returning to Australia he bought a Bedford and carted fruit, general and livestock in the Jerilderie area. Later he bought a 7-series Dodge driving interstate until around 1970 when his truck rolled in the Culleran Range. He then bought a MAN, which he claimed to be the biggest mistake of his life.He moved to Townsville working for Turners pulling Overnight Comet Freight from Brisbane to Townsville; the first overnight service into the north. Sick of overnighters,Kevin started with Jack Webb carting heavy freight. Jack wasn't going well so the truck didn't move unless he had two loads per trailer. Registration was an unnecessary cost and Kevin could only afford to pay for steer tyres so the rest came from the tip or wherever he could scrounge them from.

Kevin moved on to Fridgemobile, Brambles Tankers, and TNT pulling road tankers into Darwin then into Hawkins, Brisbane and Bob Scott, Sydney. He bought his own Mack and carted cranes for Favco during the boom. In 1981 he moved to Darwin buying his own truck to service Mudginberri Station during the big abattoir strike. He returned to Sydney in 1989 to do short stints with Blue Circle, Pioneer, and Coast to Coast moving on to Shaves doing Darwin, Perth, and full circle trips for nearly five years. Kevin has been working for Chemtrans since 1995 doing interstate and carting local and country. Kevin is well-known for his work preserving our industry's heritage and organising the Sydney truckies' reunion.