Ivan Wiese

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

Northern Transport initially started out in business to service remote settlements, weather stations and outstations in central Australia in the early 1950s.  Based in Alice Springs, it was the initiative of Ivan Wiese, Tom Corry and Mel Whitbread.

In 1959, Mel Whitbread and Tom Corry pulled out and Ted Smith, Ivan and Ian Lovegrove bought their shares in Northern Transport.  This formidable trio soon saw it grow from strength to strength and the company soon built up regular runs to Adelaide and Darwin and remote communities.

Ian and Ivan shared a love of aircraft and flying and before long they operated a fleet of 13 small aeroplanes in conjunction with as many trucks.  The trucks, mainly Commer Knockers and Fodens, would haul the dry and general goods and the planes would carry the perishables and frozen goods.  The planes also proved to be a vital lifeling whenever one of the trucks broke down in the scrub or became bogged or stranded in some remote corner of the lonely outback.

Ivan was typical of many truckies who gave their all to the community in which he lived.  He was the first to set up a Lions Club in the Northern Territory and was a founding member of the Aviation and Gliding Clubs in Alice Springs.  He was a founding member of the RSL Stirrers Club, which raised over $2,000,000 for emergency relief, including the Cyclone Tracy Appeal of 1975.

Ivan was a founding member of the Northern Territory Road Transport Association and his commitment to the industry lasted long after he retired.  In 1990 he led the small town of Borroloola in a campaign that raised $2,000 to fight the Interstate Commission's Heavy Vehicle Registration Scheme.

Ivan died on January 27, 1992 in his Borroloola home.  The road transport industry was much richer for having the likes of Ivan in its ranks.