Ted Smith

Inducted into the Shell Rimula Wall of Fame at Reunion 2003.

Ted Smith was born in 1924.  He joined the Royal Australian Air Force aged 17.  When demobbed at the end of the war, after being part of the occupying forces in Japan, he and mate Col Harris (deceased) came to the Territory to start a new life.
The first family to take them in were the Coppocks, from the Harts Range Area.  Immediately they became involved in Mica Mining in Harts Range and this was where he bought his first truck.  It was an old ex-WW11 Army International Ted headed north and worked his way through Tennant Creek, Katherine, Adelaide River and then in and around Darwin.  He was one of the men who put the first road through into Rum Jungle, a feat of which he was very proud.  Ted came back to the Alice Springs area after some time.  He worked for Dave Baldock in the early 1950s.  At this time he met and married Naomi Reeve, a nurse from England who worked at Adelaide House.  They had three children, Nick, Deb and Judy.  Ted later became manager of John Drings.  Some of the trucks he drove over the years were Commers, Federals, Diamond Ts and Peterbilts.In about 1960 Ivan Wiese offered Ted and Ian Lovegrove a quarter share each in Northern Transport.  Ted's skills were with organizing and Ian was an expert mechanic.  They were all dab hands at loading, driving and doing running repairs.  Ted later went into earth-moving equipment.  Ted was very community-minded and among the many things he did he was be on the original steering committee of The Road Transport Historical Society Inc.  Unfortunately he had to resign due to ill health soon after, but he certainly worked tirelessly in those early days.  Ted Smith pass away on 5th August 2003, just a month before he was inducted into the Wall of Fame but is well remembered as a true pioneer of transport.