Barry(John) Smith
Inducted into the Shell Rimula Wall of Fame at Reunion 2013.
Barry James Smith (Bumper) was born 31 December 1942 at Parramatta and grew up in Baulkham Hills. Barry became interested in transport after his neighbour, Mick McKenzie, took him on trips to Kangaroo Valley in a 1950s model Austin Loadster to pick up and deliver fencing materials to the Sydney metro area and occasionally loads from other companies to the lower Hunter Valley.
After serving part of a mechanic apprenticeship and attaining a mobile crane driver's ticket Barry applied for a job as a driver with Jones Bros. Carriers at Wetherill Street, North Lidcombe. In a one ton Dodge he did small pickups and deliveries before progressing to a four ton Dodge on local deliveries with an occasional trip up Putty Road to the Liddell Power Station construction site. He graduated to driving an eight ton petrol Commer on local country work. After gaining his trailer licence he started driving a 6 series Dodge with a Perkins diesel and 32 foot trailer on local country runs.
After three years, he went to work for a waste company driving a single rigid Loadster International Vacuum Tank powered by a six cylinder Perkins, designed for the removal and disposal of toxic waste from chemical companies. He then joined David Holdings at Homebush driving a 1418 Mercedes Benz with a 36ft. trailer delivering groceries in the north, south and west country areas of NSW with the occasional local delivery.
He drove a 1970 eight wheel petrol ACCO with a tip up pneumatic cement tank for Blue Circle delivering bulk cement to Readymix concrete plants going on to drive a 1969 Kenworth powered by a NH250 Cummins 13 speed Road ranger pulling a Fruehauf bogie cement tanker delivering cement to Readymix concrete plants in metro and south coast areas. As Barry continued to work with Blue Circle he saw the fleet grow, depots relocate, the duplication of the Hume Highway, new infrastructure, bigger and better trailers and tankers until, in 1995, the Blue Circle fleet merged with the Boral fleet of tankers. At this time Barry was offered a position in customer service allocations. He accepted this position and remained there until he retired from the road in August 2008.