Kevin May

Inducted into the Shell Rimula Wall of Fame at Reunion 2005.
Kevin May's first trip was the long 36 hour Melbourne-Sydney run on the original Hume Highway in an International KB6. He was 18. From 1951 to 1956 he drove both locally and interstate for a number of people including the army and D & E Cameron. The Camerons were the original importers of Kenworth in Australia in late 1962.
In 1956 Kevin bought his first truck, a second-hand 1953 W520 Diamond T which he operated along the east coast until it was written off in 1960.  Kevin bought the first Mercedes 327 to arrive in Australia. This truck was subcontracted to Mercury Transport and operated north along the east coast, west to Perth and south to Tasmania. In 1962 the Benz was traded for a new International AB 182 powered by a 6.354, 112HP Perkins engine. The association with Mercury Transport continued until 1964.Through an association with Laurie O'Neill (Mainline Transport) and Bob Larkin (Peterbilt), Kevin took delivery of the first of two single-drive Peterbilts imported by Mainline. He subcontracted to various companies for 12 months until he successfully negotiated his own contract with Pict Frozen Vegetables hauling Melbourne to Brisbane and backloading with Dixie Frozen Chickens. This was good steady work each way which enabled him to progress to a brand-new 1967 Kenworth W923 custom-built to his specification and assembled completely in Seattle. By 1972 it was becoming harder to compete with the large companies without taking the risk of getting bigger yourself. Kevin elected to bow out on the top and get a day job.After a short period of time with Brambles Tanker Division, and a few years of local work, Kevin May finally retired from truck driving in 1993.