Lawrence Raggart

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

Lawrence (Snow) Raggatt, was born in Adelaide and spent his early life in Port Augusta.  He joined the New Zealand Infantry when he turned 18 and within six months was shipped out to the Middle East where he became a dispatch rider in Egypt. An emergency appendectomy stopped him from going into combat into Crete where all the other members of his unit were killed or taken prisoner. He later served in Italy and was sailing home to Australia when V-day was declared. They settled in Adelaide and then Tailem Bend.

In their early years Snow operated his own fishing boat but to help make ends meet drove trucks for Kain and Shelton (K&S) of Mt. Gambier. in the off season.  He later moved his wife and three children to Mt.Gambier and drove for K&S fulltime where he became a well known trucking identity and went on to work for the company for 25 years. Snow owned one of the few air compressors in the area and people often visited his home to get air for diving tanks. Diving was one of Snow's passions and he discovered many of the diving opportunities in the south east sinkholes. Snow was one the first divers to explore the Blue Lake and later in life trained police divers.

Kain and Shelton had its origins back in 1945 and, despite the original partnership between Aubrey Shelton and Jack Kain lasting only 18 months the name went on to become one of the country's most iconic trucking businesses employing over 1150 drivers during that time.

It became part of the Scott Corporation in 1972 and Snowy went with the sale. He loved recalling his trucking adventures especially his days in the Mighty White which was the last truck he drove before retiring in the 1980s. Snow believed it was the first 'cab-over' White in the country. Snow also enjoyed the diversity of the job and hauled anything from general to heavy earthmoving equipment with the same degree of professionalism.

When Snow retired at sixty he lived in Portland and Heywood before suffering a stroke and moving to a Melbourne nursing home where he passed away. He is survived by his wife Jean and two children as well as many grand and great grand children.