Ian Forrester

Ian Borland Forrester was born on 11 May 1928 in Armidale NSW and continues to live there. He started working with a horse and cart after school and at weekends when he was 12 ½ years old and started as a full time carrier in 1943 aged 15. He retired for a second time in 2004 at age 76, but continues to be interested in all things trucks.

Ian started carrying timber and building materials, then sand and river gravel. He also carried corn and chaff, bag cement, coke and coal, lucerne hay and wool, and did town deliveries from the railway station to local storekeepers. Later he carted clay to the Armidale Brickworks.

Ian’s main contract was held with Australian Fertilizers Ltd to carry superphosphate from the rail head to rural properties in New England and eventually from Newcastle by road directly to the property.

Ian’s first truck was purchased in 1945, a 1940’s Bedford tray top 30cwt (1.5 tonnes) and his last truck a Ford 9000 in 1990. Over the time he owned 4 x Bedford’s, 2 x Chevrolet, 2 x Maple leaf, 4 x Internationals, 1 x Leyland Comet 90, 1 x Albion Chieftain, 1 x Mercedes Benz, 2 x Ford, 3 x Diamond T’s, 3 x Mack’s, 1 x Dodge, 1 x Foden, 2 x Leaders and a White Road Boss.

Ian also owned loaders, a Fordson clamshell loader and an F/E loader, 2 x Bedford truck clamshell loaders, a Case W10E and a W12B, a Caterpillar 933 traxcavator, a 10/20 International Plough Tractor and 2 x Berryman truck mounted loaders.

Ian was the first person to introduce a clamshell loader (on a Fordson tractor) to unload rail trucks in the New England area.

He also operated two bulk superphosphate storage sheds for Australian Fertilizers, both situated on rail lines at Dumaresq and Guyra. Prior to the sheds, he operated field storage, and at one time had 11,000 tons under plastic covers at Dumaresq.

Ian’s main area of work was from Kentucky (south of Armidale) to Tenterfield in the north, and from Newcastle once superphosphate ceased to be carried by the railways.