Doug Wyton

Doug Wyton started his working life as a carpenter and progressed into the transport industry working for the Department of Main Roads in Charleville. His first truck was a Lend Lease Chevrolet Tipper with a wooden tray. After working there for a couple of years, Doug moved to Toowoomba and took on a contract with Ready Mix driving a Dennis (Pommy Lorry).

Doug then ventured into local, interstate and grain cartage off the Darling Downs, doing this with three Internationals, a R190, a R200 and a DCOAF. Then it was time to have a go at the oilfield carting for Oil Drilling & Exploration in Toowoomba. Here Doug worked such identities as Neil Mansell, Alf Broadman and Bluey Meyers.

With work escalating, Doug had built his business into a small transport company with good operators like Jim Gamble and Alwynn French working for him. He then purchased a new bonneted Kenworth in 1965. It was the first Kenworth sold and serviced by the Queensland dealer, Brown & Hurley. Brown & Hurley acquired the truck many years later and refurbished it. It now stands in the Kenworth Auditorium at the National Road Transport Hall of Fame in Alice Springs.

In 1966 Doug purchased Somerset Transport, a small livestock and general transport company and fuel depot in Muttaburra. He bought the business off Bundy Luck (Haulmark Trailers) and Kevin Bowman. He operated this until 1977 when he split the business up between his four sons. Mal still lives in Muttaburra, Roy is in general transport in Longreach, Eddie is in Toowoomba and Gordon is in container and general freight in Brisbane.

Doug then moved to Caloundra where he purchased a snack bar on Kings Beach. It was here that Doug hung up his keys and signed off his log book on the 7thNovember 1979 and is laid to rest at the Albury Creek Memorial Gardens.