Keith Ned McKenna

Inducted into the Shell Rimula Wall of Fame at Reunion 2005

Keith McKenna (Ned) started driving around about 1959 for Partway Transport with an R7 Commer along the Sydney to Melbourne and back route, with general freight. From there he went to Lyndon Brothers driving a Leyland Sydney to Melbourne carting steel and carrying wool on the return.
He moved on to Alderson Northern Transport, hauling Sydney to Cairns and return, driving an F600 Ford. Ned then spent seven years with Burns Carrying Co. doing the Sydney to Adelaide return. From there he went to New Johnstone Pty. Ltd. for about five years driving B61 Macks, R600s and Peterbilts, hauling all over New South Wales, the Northern Territory and Queensland from Sydney. He also did a stint with John L. Perce, where he had a job driving Sydney to north Queensland in Fodens and Atkinsons for two years before going to Brambles Bulk Haulage and travelling all over Australia for about three years. It was during this time that Ned was involved in an accident in which he lost his left leg, below the knee.  It meant he could not work for about two years but he did eventually return to Brambles as a company driver before buying his own Ford Louisville and working for them as a subcontractor for a number of years. Ned then returned to the Growers as a driver for John Wright Transport, as John-Low Transport, working Sydney, NT and WA with roadtrains.Keith (Ned) McKenna hung up his driving boots due to ill health in 1996 after a period of 37 years driving in Australia. Keith is proud of having been involved in the road transport industry and is proud of the industry itself, the people involved in it and the mates he made on the road. Another true gentleman of the road.