Col Nesbit

Col Nesbit was born in Inglewood, Victoria in 1927. He left school aged 14 and with his father Ernie had a horse-drawn carrier business from the local railway station and in the 1940s they bought their first truck. Col worked with trucks from the 1940s until he retired in 1993.

From the two four-wheel lorries pulled by horses between Inglewood and the Bridgewater Flour Mill, they bought a 1929 30 cwt Fargo tray truck and next a 1939 three ton Fargo to cart from the Bridgewater Mill to Wedderburn and Charlton.

When the driving trips extended to Melbourne Col purchased a 1939 Ford V8 3 ton tray truck and later a new English built Dodge 4 ton tray truck. As business improved Col bought a 1954 Austin with a 32 feet single axle. His final truck, while working in country Victoria, was a new 1956 Ford V8 semi-trailer.

He carted eucalyptus oil, honey, tiles, hay, plaster, wheat, timber, wool and loads of rabbits to and from Melbourne and all over Victoria. In the early days he was transporting three loads a week, including to the Bosisto factory in Richmond, and Phillips Plaster factory in Port Melbourne. In 1949 he married Dot and the trucking business continued with Dot being a co-driver. Many trips were also made from Mildura with fruit and vegetables.

Col continued in the transport industry when the family moved to Melbourne in 1958. He worked for 31 years for Antill Rangers, Mayne Nickless, Jetspress and later Toll Transport. Antill Rangers was taken over by Mayne Nickless in 1959 and for both companies Col did interstate driving with bulk deliveries before being offered the position of transport supervisor in 1960.

Later Col was transport manager at Mayne Nickless and he managed transport for Australian events including the Great Moscow Circus, Disney on Parade, Russian Ballets, Great Victorian Bike Ride, Her Majesty's Theatre events and building of the Thomson River Dam Tunnel. Col rose through the company to be South Eastern Australia Security manager and led the recovery and security of trucking accidents in South Eastern Australia.

In his 51 years in the transport industry, with wide ranging experiences, Col was respected for his honesty and hard work.