Elaine Mitchell

Elaine Mary Mitchell (nee Mayall) was born in Wangaratta, Victoria on the 21st January 1944. She attended Box Hill Primary School and later Whitehorse Girls Tech. Elaine left school at 15 and worked at Wilkinson's Real Estate for two years and then began work at Box Hill Hospital.

In 1962 Elaine married Graham Mitchell and they bought their first truck, a Ford Thames and then an S Model Bedford with which they carted Tarax soft drinks. In 1966 they moved from Box Hill to Graham's father's ESSO service station/roadhouse in Tynong where most trucks travelling from Melbourne to Gippsland would stop for fuel and a good feed. They then bought a F500 tow truck.

Later they moved to Trafalgar and Elaine started working at Ravens catering. She got her semi licence and with the five children they moved back to Box Hill and bought an AB 180 semi. Graham was working at AFE while Elaine worked at Box Hill and Doncaster Dairy before working at Motor Spares, Box Hill delivering parts to service stations and truck repairers. A second semi was purchased, a C1800 and then both trucks were used for interstate runs. The decision was made to sell the semis and buy tip trucks so the family could be together. Elaine had a Leyland tipper working for Tunstall Constructions, later swapping to a C1800 ACCO tipper.

During the winter months when the tippers were quiet, Elaine delivered for Patterson Cheney Ringwood and then bought an ACCO furniture truck delivering reproduction furniture to depots for Jarman St Clair and Scott Pine. The last truck Elaine bought was a Toyota Dyna which she later sold to her son Darren who started his own removal business. Elaine then did courier work for the Commonwealth Bank until she retired in 1998. A very hard working woman.