Alan Shimmin

Alan Trevor Shimmin, known as ‘Sambo’, was born in Sydney, New South Wales, in January 1970 but grew up in Brisbane, Queensland, where his  love for trucks developed when he was ten years old.  Alan  would often ride his push bike around the industrial area in Clontarf, looking for trucks to watch.  One day he rode into the yard of Donovan Transport  and asked if could help wash the trucks. Eventually, Alan was tagging along on trips around Brisbane and even went on a trip to Melbourne, Victoria. 

Alan attended technical college as a young man but when he obtained his semi-truck licence, he secured employment at Donovan Transport as a truck driver. His dreams had come true! At age 20 he was driving to Darwin, Northern Territory. When he was 22 years old, Alan began working for John Bain Transport, and he was given a  new  Kenworth T900 to drive. This vehicle was  pictured in the 1994 Kenworth Calendar. Alan went on to work for Harker’s Transport and Mansell’s Transport. He thoroughly enjoyed the changing scenery along the highways and made some great friendships along the way.   Alan always had a good story to tell about life on the road.

Alan continued to drive trucks but when his daughter moved in with him he decided to give up life on the road.  Shortly after this Alan was diagnosed with a tumour that would eventually leave him paralysed from the neck down.  However, even with all odds stacked against him, he never allowed his new reality to get the better of him!  Alan decided to pursue a new career and became an airport security officer.  This led to the broadening of his passion for travelling around Australia to international travel and he accompanied his father and daughter to Vietnam, on a trip of a lifetime.  

As his paralysis worsened, it became more difficult to meet up with old driving mates at  truck stops so Alan created a mancave/truckstop in his home  which hosted many parties.  He was a determined, passionate man with a heart of gold and a smile that could power the whole Territory.

Alan passed away peacefully  in September 2020 at his home in Clontarf, Queensland, surrounded by his loved ones.  His positive energy impacted many and his legacy lives on through his friends and family.

                                                                                                      Inducted in 2021