Peter Parkinson

Peter (Pancho) Parkinson was the youngest of three boys who grew up on a farm in Naracoorte. He knew from a young age he was destined to be a truck driver. His first job was driving a harvester for AJ Moore & Co before he went on to work for SF Crisp Transport driving a D-Series 20 ft tray.

In 1972 Peter bought a new 1830 Acco to cart sheep and cattle but after just 18 months he sold up and went back to Crisp Transport driving a Ford F750 all over Australia, with 2½ deck sheep and 1½ deck cattle crate. After Sid Crisp stepped down, Peter went into a partnership with Sid's son Barry, together they ran SF Crisp Transport with three Mack's and two Louisville's, 1985 the company went bankrupt.

Peter's next venture was driving for Peter Burns carting grain, super, wool and general in a Cabover Kenworth until 1989 when he moved to Western Australia and drove a K100 carting containers off the local rail. In 1993 he bought a B-double and went to work for Fife Distribution in Western Australia carting containers of grain, malt and barley which was used to make beer in Japan. In 1995 he sold the Kenworth and bought an LTS carting paper off the Fremantle wharf. Selling the LTS in 1998 Peter bought a 112 Freightliner with a drop deck trailer carting farm machinery interstate. In 2003 he was pulling a side loader for Sadleir's Transport and then carting pre-fabricated steel for Ital Steel in a Scania.

In 2011 Peter headed up north to Port Headland to drive a 904 Kenworth with four side tippers carting iron ore from Wodgina mine to Utah Point. He has seen technology change over the years, especially MT data recording all speed and time movements which also tells him when he has to have a break. Now driving a 909 Kenworth with quad side tippers for McAleese Resources on a fly in, fly out roster, he looks forward to going back home to his wife Suzanne and even after 46 years in the transport industry Peter still has a love of driving!