Keith Jerome

Wilber Keith Jerome was born in Dirranbandi, Queensland in 1963. He always had a love of trucks and used to go with his dad at a very young age at any chance he could get.

At about 14 years of age there was an extreme emergency, the floodwaters were at their peak. The Police Sergeant, Constable and Ambulance man arrived at Keith's dad's butcher shop asking if he could go out in the Blitz truck to pick up a man who had had a bad heart attack about 20 miles out of town. His dad he was too busy and said the only way the Blitz could go out is if Keith drives it but he is under age with no licence. The old Sergeant he had been watching Keith drive around town for about five years and it is an emergency, so okay.

Imagine how proud Keith was with the old Sarge sitting up beside him and the Ambulance man and Constable on the back. It was all black soil country under three foot of water for about 18 miles. It took all day to get back with the patient who survived. The old Sarge couldn't praise Keith enough for what he did but his last words to Keith were Don't let me catch you driving around town again.

Keith bought his first truck age 16. It was a 1947 Ford and cost five hundred pounds and he has been in the transport game ever since. At 18 he had three stock trucks at Dirranbandi. He went to Melbourne for nine years driving car carriers for Carfreight for five years then McCullough Brothers for four years before going to the Kimberly.

Keith has operated machinery and roadtrains all over Australia. He spent a lot of time up in the Kimberly out on the stations, with roadtrain tippers in the Great sandy desert, running the paddock with general freight, Perth to Darwin with general freight and fuel and roadtrains to the Kimberly. He has done a lot of things no other person would imagine doing.

Keith is 79 and still loves getting behind the wheel of his old 1984 Superliner. He will never stop driving his beloved trucks.