John Jones

Inducted into the Shell Rimula Wall of Fame at Reunion 2010.

 John Jones was born 17.08.44 at Belgrave Hospital, Belgrave. John received his licence 50 years ago by taking the local policeman around the block and back to the local RSL Club in Emerald at a cost of 4 shillings.
At the age of 16 John went to work for George Bartlett driving his dozer. In 1962 Jack Jones (John's Father) purchased a truck to cart logs. John left George Bartlett to drive this. It was a wooden-cabbed White with no doors and solid tyres (no tubes).
John went from Murrindindi to Murray Downs carting logs. After this he went to work for Allan Jones in Mansfield logging camp camping in the bush. Jack Jones went on to purchase a 760 Dodge which saw John leave Allan Jones to return to work for his father once more, driving all over Australia doing interstate from 1964 - 1969.
John left his father to go to work for Manson, again travelling interstate driving one of the first S-model Kenworths. Around 1979 John and his wife Margaret purchased their first truck, a single drive R200 International and, a D24 dozer. This enabled John to continue falling and carting logs into numerous sawmills around Victoria.
In the years following John and Margaret purchased numerous trucks including a bogie drive RS195 and two R600 Macks, all of them were used to cart logs around Victoria. Finally John purchased an S-line International in which their son Garry started to do Interstate. Eventually John returned to driving the S-line himself carting more logs.
One of the high lights John of his driving career was when he drove his son-in-law's 'Western Star' to the church for the marriage of his daughter Kerrieanne.
John has now retired from truck driving but still helps out his son Garry where possible. He estimates driving around a couple of million kilometres traveling all over Australia.