Reginald Page

Inducted into the Shell Rimula Wall of Fame at Reunion 2008.

Reg Page was born on 20th June, 1912.  In December 1935, Reg's father, Arthur Page of Cluan, Tasmania, purchased a general cartage business from Alvin Higgs of Whitemore, Tasmania.  The sale included a 1935 British Bedford 2 and a half ton tray-truck.  Arthur, who farmed a small 180 acre property, decided trucking would be a more suitable future for his sons.  Being the eldest son, Reginald was the first to learn to drive in Mr Higgs' original 1929 Chev truck.
Reg married Ruby and moved to Whitemore in 1936 to manage the business.  The 1935 British Bedford was later upgraded to a new 1937 British Bedford.  In the 1938-1939 season some 89,000 bags and bales were carted mostly to the local railway for transport to Launceston.  WW11 also influenced a move into carting flax.  Towards the end of WW11, Reg had two KS5 International trucks.  In the late 1940s Reg went to Melbourne to order a double-deck (sheep) stock crate from McGraths.  Next came diesel with a 5-ton Morris Commercial.  Reg then went into a better class of truck, a 1957 Mercedes Benz 312, with a capacity of 7-ton
Reg's eldest son Graeme left school in 1957 to work with his father.  Reg purchased a second Mercedes in early 1959, a 321 model, a truck in which he covered more than 1.5 million miles over the next 15 years.  Graeme drove the 321 Benz until he traded it in on an LP327 Mercedes Benz prime-mover, the first semi unit operated by the business.  1962 came the big move; interstate shipping from Tasmania to the mainland.  It was 12th July, 1962 that Reg and Graeme loaded 124 stud rams and put the truck on the Bass Strait roll-on, roll-off ship the 'Bass Trader' for direct delivery to Finley, NSW.  They returned with a load of army disposal jerry cans for Allgood's shop in Launceston.  A longer trip quickly followed, to Dalby in QLD, and a few years direct through to Perth, WA with stud stock for the show.  Reg also pioneered the development of livestock shipping containers.  The business today moves over 80% of the livestock to and from Tasmania and the mainland.
Reg passed away in 2005 at 92 years of age, leaving his sons, Graeme and Ian, to operate the family business.