Len Kittle

Inducted into the Shell Rimula Wall of Fame at Reunion 2003.
Anyone who drives through Tennant Creek and Alice Springs will be aware of the Kittle name.  The name Kittle is synonymous with stability and service to the Northern Territory particularly in transport and automotive fields. 
Len's father, George Kittle, worked a horse and cart on the wharf in Townsville and in the Tully area of QLD.  With a lot of moving around, Len attended eight schools prior to buying a Chevrolet utility for 50 pounds on time payment and with his school mate, Jim Dodd, commenced carting into the rail-head.  In 1936, at age 19, Len headed off to Tennant Creek to seek employment.In 1939, Len sold one of his spare tyres to invest in an engagement ring for Phyllis Lennon.  They married the same year (commencement of WW11).  Len also entered a partnership with his brother Geoff, cutting and carting wood for 30 shillings a load.  They shovelled sand by hand and carted water from the Old Telegraph Station in 1000 gallon tanks.The Kittle Bros. Partnership commenced in a small shed around 1941 and was to become the forerunner to today's Kittle Bros Empire which has extended to Alice Springs and is still growing.  Len joined the air force in 1942 where he stayed for three and half years serving in Shepparton and Flemington.  After the war, with the loosening up in the economy, Kittle Bros expanded their business into long haul cartage including cattle carting for Ted and Mary Ward at Banka Banka Station and carting fuel from Larrimah to Tennant Creek. Len Kittle has been recognised by the naming of a street after him in Alice Springs.  Len was also a foundation member of the Road Transport Historical Society Inc.  He passed away in Alice Springs and is survived by a large family.