Rodney Maudsley
RODNEY WILLIAM MAUDSLEY(Rod) started his transport career on horseback in 1955, droving cattle around Central Queensland. In 1958 he began working on cattle trains before taking up truck driving in 1960 working for local transport companies out of Mundubbera and mostly carting cattle. Rod married his wife, Jan, in 1961.
In 1972 Rod and Jan moved to Gympie and by 1976 had started their own transport business. For the first couple of years Rod carted bricks from Brisbane north to Bundaberg and Hervey Bay, then took up a contract carting groceries from Brisbane around Queensland and up to Darwin. On the return journey he would bring back loads of sugar and fruit. Rod continued carting groceries until he handed the business over to his son, Shane, in 2001. Over the years, Rod owned and drove many trucks including Mercedes Benz 1418, Internationals, Ford Louisville, Kenworths, a Volvo NL12 and a Mack Super Liner. Rod was immensely proud of his trucks, and would spend hours cleaning and polishing them to perfection. His Ford Louisville won Truck of the Show at the Gladstone Truck Show in 1983, and was also featured as a Rig of the Month in the Australian Truckin' Life magazine.
D is for Rod, who placed an order for one after seeing a magazine advert. When he told Jan of the purchase she promptly informed him that she did the books and looked after the money, and now was not the time to buy a new truck. Despite the opposition, Rod got the truck. After delivery, he booked a sign-writer to come by to apply the business details but could not come up with a name for the truck. Jan had been listening to a Frank Sinatra song, and decided that 'My Way,' was the perfect name for the Volvo. Rod had, after all, always done it his way.
After retiring from trucks, Rod volunteered driving the community bus for elderly residents in Gympie, helping them get to medical appointments and taking them to group functions and outings. Rod passed away in 2016 and is remembered as a passionate advocate and true gentleman of the industry.