Delroy (Kookie) Wendt

Inducted into the Shell Rimula Wall of Fame at Reunion 2009.

Delroy Reginald Wendt better known as 'Kookie' was born in 1944 in Queensland.  He initially came to the Northern Territory as a young man to work, as a boner, at the Katherine meat works. 

In 1967 'Taipan' Stan Martin got him a start with Buntine Roadways, first in a Mack B61 and later in a Mack cab-over, 8-wheeler pulling two, 40ft double-deck trailers and a 30ft body crate, Kookie spent 11 years with Buntine moving cattle all around the top of Australia.  This included small lifts from station to station and big lifts like when they hauled 3800 head from Moolabulla to Meekathata, in WA.

Ten years later, in 1978 Kookie started with Bob Holt who had the Katherine Shell Fuel Depot.  Kookie delivered fuel in 1250 gallon cross-tanks and 44 gallon drums on 40ft Haulmark trailers and later in 40,000 litre bulk tankers pulled by a series of Kenworths, K1-100, SAR, K100-525, C500 and T604, one year moving 21 million litres of fuel 700,000 litres of oil.

In 1988 Holt's haulage business concentrated on transport of bulk cement and lime in triple 33 ton tanks and sand in 98 ton payload BTS side-tippers, pulled by Kenworths.  In 2004 when they switched to Volvo FH16s.  Kookie declared them the most comfortable truck he had driven.  Destination or product has never phased Kookie, from cattle lifts to lime, cement and sand, it was just a normal working day.  He travelled on dirt and bitumen across the Territory, Queensland and the West, he carted to cattle stations, road camps, mines and remote communities.  The highlight of Kookie's driving career has been working alongside fellow trucking legends like Errol Connelly, Slack Tom, Georgie Packham, Admiral Jack Taylor, Bob Dodd and Kojak.  Today Kookie is retired and living in Katherine enjoying some leisure time with his wife.