Jim Gillespie

Inducted into the Shell Rimula Wall of Fame at ReUnion 2008.

Jim Gillespie, born in 1948, started driving in the Northern Territory in 1972 for Baldocks at Tennant Creek.  He was b ased there for two and a half years mainly delivering freight to Warrego Mine, Old Peko Mine and loading bagged copper dust back to the Tennant Creek depot.

The trucks he used for yard work were a Leyland Hippo and an R-model Flintstone Mack.  When Co ord bought Baldocks and Kittle Bros in Tennant Creek, Jim went driving for the new company, Red North, on the fuel run to Darwin and Mt Isa after Cyclone Tracy hit in December 1974.Jim left Red North and started to work for Ascot Cartage in Darwin on the fuel run to Mt Isa and Gunpowder.  He stayed with Ascot for about eight years.  Jim then went to work for Doug Park of Timor Transport carting oil rigs all over the Territory and Western Australia.  He stayed with Timor Transport for about eight years as well. 

Through this time Jim also did some work for Jim Cooper at Gulf Transport.Next Jim started with NT Fuels in about 1990 and drove the Barkly Tablelands fuel run for about 10 years for Tennant Creek before moving to Darwin for another four and a half years on the bush run out of Darwin. 

Currently Jim is working for Gulf Group based at Pine Creek on the roadtrains carting gold ore from the various mine sited in the area into Union Reefs Mills.Jim is one of the shift bosses and still enjoys driving roadtrains.  He considers Kenworth trucks are the best, with Macks a close second.He has enjoyed his years driving in the Northern Territory and is still doing it whenever he can.  Jim is without doubt one of the best known characters in the Northern Territory.