William (Bill)Ohlmus

Inducted into the Shell Rimula Wall of Fame at Reunion 2013.

Bill Ohlmus otherwise known as Burglar Bill started his love of trucks working in trucking yards throughout Sydney and Melbourne before moving to the Northern Territory at the age of nineteen. In 1963 he began working around the Alice Springs region on oil rigs. It was in Alice Springs he first met his wife to be, Elizabeth (also now known as Robbie), a lovely young Irish woman travelling Australia.

Bill and Robbie spent some time in Darwin before moving back to Alice Springs where their first child Nina was born.  Back in Alice Springs Bill continued with his trucking up and down the notorious Old South Road in his beloved International prime mover.  Here he spent long amounts of time away from his family as the conditions of the unsealed road made driving difficult and when the rain set in he sometimes had to pull up for two to three weeks at a time.  Although very isolated it was usually with a few other drivers who around the fire exchanged many fun stories whilst downing a few good rums.  
During these early years Bill and Robbie had their second born, Grant.  Over the following years Bill tried his hands on a few different business ventures including security hence the nickname 'Burglar Bill' for which he is affectionately known along the road. he also operated the local BP Service Station for a time. However Bills love for the trucks and the call of the road stayed with him and he eventually started his own trucking company High North Pty Ltd in the late seventies.  He went on to operate High North for thirty five years only closing the doors in April 2013.  Over this period of time he operated a number of prime movers including Mercedes, Kenworth, Volvo, Western Star and Freight Liner.  High North's main operations were freighting cars and general freight for many local businesses and also supplying many of the surrounding Stations with delivery of hay and goods to their properties.
Bill and Robbie have made Alice Springs their home and have seen many changes in town over their years here; especially in the trucking industry.  Bill and his family are proud his business has made it through the highs and lows and survived to service the town in that same old fashioned way people once always received.  Bill now has two grand children in Alice Springs who often visit the National Road Hall of Fame and it is wonderful for them to see Grandpa Bill's contribution recognised on the Shell Rimula Wall of Fame.