Stanley & Thomas McGlashen
Inducted into the Shell Rimula Wall of Fame at Reunion 2010.
Stan was born in 1914, the eldest in a large family of ten surviving children. His father, Geordie, worked with four Clydesdales cutting and carting wood to the Murray River pumps at Red Cliffs until he purchased a T model Ford and a 1924 Chev truck.
When he turned 16 Stan took over the running of the trucks. He started off by carting peas to the Melbourne market in lots of 200 bags all loaded and unloaded by hand. His younger brother Thomas also started driving when he turned 16 a few years later.
His father was impressed with young Stan's efforts and gave him a larger Maple Leaf Chev for his 21st birthday. Stan commenced hauling a wider range of produce to the Melbourne markets most of it in competition to the railways which meant he needed to procure back loads of non-perishables to make it viable. Like most transport operators of the day Stan had his share of harassment from the authorities.
When he bought another truck his brother Tom started to work with him and a strong partnership grew. During the depression the rabbit trade became the centre of their business activities and Stan hauled over 4000 pairs of rabbits per load. To keep the truck moving, while one was driving the other brother would be tied to the top of the load to have a sleep.
During the war Thomas served in New Guinea with the Australian Army and Stanley carted ammunition for the war effort. At war's end Thomas hauled dried fruit from Mildura and wheat in the harvest season. Ultimately they joined together to form McGlashans Transport. They hauled 900 gallon lift-off tanks from South Australia and dried fruit from Mildura to the railhead in Hay for further transporting by rail.
The partnership between the brothers grew from those humble beginnings to a fleet of 25 trucks and as many sub-contractors over the years including all the other brothers from the family, Lindsay, Billy, Donny, Jackie and Toody. In 1968 Stan and Tom sold McGlashans to United Transport.
