Arthur & Leonard Francis

Inducted into the Shell Rimula Wall of Fame at Re Union 2002.

Back in 1910 the late Arthur Francis (Snr) was a common sight on the roads around Corowa, NSW, the birthplace of Australia's federation.  He used a horse and wagon to cart goods throughout the Rutherglen district of Victoria.
Later he hauled wine from the district wineries to the railhead at Rutherglen using a TT Model Ford.  The wine industry in the area was just starting to make its mark on Australia.  In those days all the large barrels of wine had to be loaded and unloaded by hand by rolling them up or down two skids on the side of the truck.

By the 1920s Arthur had purchased a Ford and an International and in the 30s they upgraded to a 3 ton International, state of the art in its day, for the Rutherglen to Melbourne route.  The local greengrocer would often travel with them and would select fruit and vegetables from the markets to take back home to sell in Rutherglen following the purchase of Bott's Transport in Sanger Street, Corowa. They have since moved to Albury Road to allow for further expansion. 

Today Arthur's sons, Arthur (Pod) and Leonard ( Hec ) operate a fleet of over twenty Kenworth prime-movers and an assortment of trailers in Corowa.  Initially, however, they were very dedicated International customers until the Mercedes Benz 1418 came onto the market.  In the late 1960s they gave their allegiance to Kenworth.  Today they have a staff of 35 including 28 drivers.They are from the "old school" and have a reputation for caring deeply for their employees and families.  Loyalty to Hec and Pod Francis is shown by the business's very low turnover of staff.