Lesley “Les” Theodore Schrapel

Inducted into the Shell Rimula Wall of Fame in 2022.

Leslie Theodore Schrapel, known as Les, was born in Loxton, South Australia, in 1918. He was raised on his family’s 800-acre farm where horses were used to till the land, before the family purchased and moved to a citrus property in nearby Berri in 1937.  

Les and his father bought two Chev Maple Leaf trucks and became chaff merchants. They carted fruit and grapes to Adelaide and the wineries in the Barossa Valley and backloaded chaff which was used to feed the horses used on every farm and property at the time.

In 1940 Les married Dosma Cox, daughter of the railway station master in Loxton. During World War2, Les undertook his National Service training in combat and mechanical repairs at Woodside, South Australia. The day before he was due to leave for military service in Port Moresby, the Army redeployed Les. His new role was to carry out a wood-carting contract with Toora Vale Fruit Processors in Monash, in the Riverland, who were supplying dehydrated potatoes to the Army’s troops. 

Afterwards, Les built his own furniture van and bought a local fruit-growing property on which he built a transport depot and a building supplies business, Schrapel’s Traders.  Dosma ran the office and later, their sons Barry, Brenton and Keith joined the business, driving Commers, Internationals, Dodge and White trucks.  At that time in South Australia, restrictions were in place whereby most goods could only be freighted by South Australian Railways unless it was for your own enterprise. By carting fresh fruit and grapes to Adelaide, the Schrapel’s were able to backload the building supplies for their other business, overcoming the rulings.

Berri’s fruit processing industry began to boom in the 1960’s and 70’s. Companies such as Berri Fruit Juices, the Riverland Cannery, Berri Co-op Packing Union and the Berri Co-op Winery were among those requiring cartage of juices as well as bottled and canned goods to Adelaide. With their trucks doing ten loads a day to Adelaide (240 kilometres one way) plus other work, Les added Fords and Macks to the fleet. 

In 1977, a new depot was built on the Old Sturt Highway in Berri as an ever-increasing demand resulted in Schrapel’s Traders becoming the largest supplier of building materials in the Riverland.  

Renamed Schrapel’s Transport Services, the transport business expanded into interstate runs, carting Berri fruit juices and canned products to Sydney and Brisbane.  Mercedes Benz, Volvo & Kenworth trucks were also added to the fleet. When the business was sold in 1985 it employed 43 staff and many subcontractors. Les did semi-retire but he always had jobs on the go and kept busy.

Les was well respected by his staff as he treated them as extended family, quietly teaching them the intricacies of the transport and building industries. He supported local sporting and service clubs, the church, nursing home and community events and would help anyone in need. He loved to race boats and became the Patron of the Berri Water Ski Club. Les also had a real passion for cars. Les passed away in 2007 at the age of 88.