Derek Edgar
Inducted into the Shell Rimula Wall of Fame in 2019.
DEREK EDGAR was born in Dumfries Scotland in 1960. When he was seven his family relocated to Birkenhead in South Australia where is father started the original Edgars Transport. As soon as Derek was old enough he was in a truck. He started out carting out of Adelaide Brighton Cement at Birkenhead and carting fly ash to Swan Hill.
In 1989 Derek decided to branch out and he and his wife Sue purchased their first truck, a Volvo, and traded under DB & SA Edgar. In this time, he subcontracted for Pearce Transport and Pibers. Within a few years Derek had contracts with Incitec, Pivot and Hifert unloading fertiliser ships. In 1999 Edgars Transport Pty Ltd was started. The depot at Wing Street was soon too small for the fast-growing company so they built the Burton Depot. By now they were working with big companies like ADCIV, SEM, MSP, Royal Park Salvage and Bardavcol around Adelaide doing low loader work and carting with semi tippers.
In 2004 Edgars Transport won a contract with Waste Management Pacific to cart rubbish with roadtrains to Inkerman doubling the fleet nearly overnight. Throughout the contract many new Freightliners were added from Daimler Trucks Adelaide. Over this time Derek also branched out into earthmoving and at one stage was running 27 Prime movers, five excavators, four dump trucks and four loaders, working on big projects like the Northern Expressway, Little Para Dam, railway upgrades and McLaren Vale overpass.
In 2014 Derek purchased his dream truck, a Kenworth 409SAR from CMV Trucks in Adelaide . It remains his pride and joy to the day he died. Derek later built a depot in Kadina to cope with his increasing workload at the Kulpara Quarry. He also relocated his family to live in Wallaroo full time. When Derek decided to downsized the company he kept a few trucks in Kadina and sold the Burton Depot.
Derek passed away in May 2018. Trucks were always a major part of his life. Edgars Transport today operates seven trucks with side tippers, end tippers and a low loader.