James (Jim) Hurley
Inducted into the Shell Rimula Wall of Fame at Reunion 2006.
James John Hurley (JJ) was born at Kyogle NSW in 1942. He began school at The Risk, where his parents, Jack and Thelma, were living with Thelma's parents before moving to Kyogle, NSW. After completing his intermediate certificate JJ went to work at Brown & Hurley as an apprentice mechanic.
In 1963 he moved to Brisbane to appraise vehicles and arrange repairs on used trucks. JJ moved back to Kyogle in 1965, after being married to Clare Donaghy from Mullumbimby. He took up a position in sales as Jack Hurley (JD) became more involved with the Brisbane operation. In 1986 James John Hurley took over the role of Kyogle Dealer Principal & Group Manager of Sales, a position he still holds today.
JJ is renowned for his passion for the truck industry and his commitment to both his customers and the community. JJ's generosity has seen the Brown & Hurley group raise donations for local charity in excess of $200,000. He supports many worthy causes on a national level including the National Road Transport Hall of Fame. JJ has been very active over the years working with customers and Kenworth engineers in Queensland and NSW to develop purpose-built Kenworth models to suit a wide spectrum of prime-movers from the road train to the relatively small construction trucks. He has been an innovator for the transport industry in Australia. He is also on the Board of the Road Transport Hall of Fame and is an active participant in all things relating to the road transport industry.
Following on from his legendary father J. (Jack) D. Hurley, in the family tradition, JJ jointing manages the Brown & Hurley Group which accounts for more than 30% of Kenworth's Australian sales, and the group directly employs more than 250 staff throughout NSW and Queensland with annual sales in excess of A$234m. Today JJ's two sons, Tony and Paul, are both working in the family company. Tony Hurley is the Manager of the Brown & Hurley Rockhampton Branch while Paul works as the company accountant and secretary.Their success over recent years indicates the future will be remarkable for both JJ and the Brown & Hurley group. They have already delivered their 6000th Kenworth, and celebrate 60 years of business. A new building project will soon start at Yatala.
