Leo Kelly

Inducted into the Shell Rimula Wall of Fame in 2021.

Leo McMahon Kelly, known as ‘Ned’, was born in July 1944 in Creswick, Victoria. After leaving school at 13, Leo worked at many jobs but was destined to work in the transport industry. In 1966 he purchased his first truck, a 1954 Chev with a 15 foot stock crate. He travelled to many livestock markets in Victoria’s western districts purchasing daily calves and transporting them to the Bendigo, Donald and Horsham livestock markets.

Within two years, Leo had upgraded to a 1016 Dodge with a 22ft stock crate which he used to transport cattle from Bega, New South Wales to the Dandenong and Newmarket markets in Victoria. When the cattle market crashed in the early 1970s Leo purchased a 684T Fiat with a semi-trailer, and started transporting general freight from Melbourne to Adelaide, South Australia. He upgraded his truck to an Atkinson in 1975 and started working with Ringwood’s Transport. He continued working for this firm for 18 years, carting wool to Adelaide for Michell Wool Pty Ltd, and backloading talc rock to Melbourne.

Leo went on to purchase a late model Atkinson but he traded it in for “Midnight Special“, a 1984 Kenworth W Model. In 1990 his “Midnight Special“ won the ‘Truckin Life’ magazine’s ‘Rig of the Year’ competition. Even though it was Leo’s pride and joy, he worked the truck hard, appreciating its reliability. With over one million kilometers on the clock, he made the decision to sell it in 1992, to pursue his passion for cattle farming. He still regularly climbed into a semi-trailer to deliver cattle and grain, though.

Over the years, Leo’s regret of having sold his special truck grew but amazingly, 22 years later, his son, Daniel, found it in Adelaide! It was a sorrt sight, painted white, with no bunk. It took Leo three years to restore his dream truck back to her former glory. Leo now enjoys showing his “Midnight Special’ at truck shows wherever he can. He greatly enjoys sharing stories of life on the road, meeting up and talking to old friends.